I am Hinata Hyuga
by KennedyTheCount
Summary: "I've known beauty. I've known pain. I've known love. I've known loss. I've known victory, honor, sacrifice and now after all these years... I'll finally know the truth." Modern AU. Slow Story. Mainly SasuHina. Drama/Romance
1. Chapter 1: Courage and Hope

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. I wish. If so, things would be quite different. **Ugly Betty** and **Naruto** are owned by their respected owners. Will follow the Ugly Betty storyline for the most part, but will change drastically throughout on some major climatic turns. Rated M for future chapters.

Anyways, thank you for clicking on my story. I hope you enjoy it. It will probably be updated weekly, or biweekly. Just because I will be writing a lot in these chapter.

The Count,

Kennedy.

**UPDATED ON 01/10/2016**

[Alright so I updated the story summary to the one you see now and edited a few errors. Besides that for those that want to know when the Ugly Betty similarities start to end is during Chapter 11/12. Besides that, kick back and enjoy the show.]

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**Chapter 1:**  
**Roses are Red**

Two young woman walked side by side on the paved side walk in front of the S&amp;U Fashion building, a few other ones already going in. Both girls held grace and glamor by the hand as they were abruptly stopped by a security guard with shoulder length white hair, purple eyes, and a wide pointy grin. He didn't move from the spot, completely blocking their way. One of them scoffed, flipped her long strawberry blond hair and shifted her weight onto on foot.

"Uh good afternoon, but excuse you... we have a casting to go to." The other said nothing, but didn't try to hide the amusement that crossed her features, due to both their antics.

"My bad, my bad. Just making sure you ladies had a decent reason to be here. Pleasure meeting you ladies, and good luck." Smirking, he shifted his body to the side and left the way empty for them, but not before going and taking in their full image. Jeans, high heels, and a white top, nothing surprised him about that. Mentally scoffing, he winked at the silent girl who's lips twisted into a smile and went after her friend. The sound of mocking laughter and high heels clicking on the floor echoed in the background.

"Looks like this seasons models might just ha-AH! Jesus!"

The poor man took an alarmed step back, hand immediately going to hold onto his walkie talkie . When he had looked over, stood what appeared to him be, an embarrassed and shy looking woman. Her index fingers pointing together with her long dark hair flaring in a pointed direction downwards as well as outdated and taped together glasses. He couldn't even take a proper look at her face because her bangs covered a good portion of it and well, what she was wearing just distracted him.

"What do you want?" He eyed her almost suspiciously, but said nothing more.

"I-I'm here f-for a job interview..." Her voice meek and soft, barely above a whisper. Moments like that he wondered what had made him agree to help the stupid Uchiha bastard anyways. Without another thought, he gave her the solace she needed.

"Right over there." And just pointed behind him with his thumb, avoiding eye contact with the woman who was now scurrying towards the glass double doors of the building. If it wasn't for the sound of a car that honked as it passed by, he could have sworn he heard a faint expression of gratitude from her. Everything was pristine and clean. Hues of gold and red decorated the area and the architecture was more than modern, it was already making her feel out of place. Gulping she stood behind the two candidates for being future models and waited silently hearing their conversation.

"Good afternoon. We're here for a casting." Clean and clear her words were spoken, the receptionist at the front desk gave them a soft smile and stood. "Of course, you are. And you guys are models?" The other pipped in, her voice betraying her delicate and refined features. "Aha, we're here for ." At that the receptionist fixed one of her pretty buns in her hair and coughed into a closed fist. "Ninth floor, all the way to the end, and then make a right." Once they were gone, the brunette groaned and tilted her head up, "That Sai, him and his work of arts, as if- oh! I'm so sorry." She apologized sincerely, a light blush appearing on her features and gave a curt bow of the head when she realized there was someone else there. "What may I help you with, miss?"

"Hello, I-I'm here f-for a job interview w-with ."

With one more glance she received her answer. "Sure, Ninth floor, conference room." And with one more smile, she watched the girl walk into the elevator filled with a bunch of chattering and overly talkative people. Somewhere in her mind, Tenten wanted to know what a girl like that, and with that fashion sense, was doing in a place like this. Truth be told she wasn't the most gorgeous piece of pie on the table, but the female who seemed like her whole life had crashed down before her, that was a different story. Shrugging, she sat back down on her comfy rolling chair and started to type up the dates from the email she had received.

A few floors later and after hearing some awkward conversations, Hinata thought she was going to die, not only had she accidentally bumped into a beautiful blond model who was wearing a high ponytail, but also met the fierce cold gaze of Mr. Sai himself. Apparently she had stepped foot onto his territory and told her that her "pretty little face", need not step there again. A pout formed on her lips as she remembered the sour encounter and how the tone he held in his voice was anything but kind. Something she wasn't quite used to hearing. Especially from a stranger whom she shared nothing in common with.

Her toes wiggled inside her green flats nervously as she could feel a cold sweat coming on as she got closer to the conference room. Maybe she shouldn't have worn the socks after all.

"Miss Yamanaka. Ino Yamanaka..." Spoke a beautiful, at least to what seemed to Hinata, woman. Almost her age and with long black hair slicked back in a low pony tail, a voice that sounded like angels.

"Miss..." She paused and rose a thin eyebrow up, looking at the name suspiciously that just didn't fit in on the clip board. "Miss Nagumo. Hinata Nagumo..." And with small little steps she bowed over to the woman, who in returned only grimaced at her appearance shaking her head. "Get in there." She muttered under her breath. Once Hinata was inside, she closed the door behind her and went on with her other duties.

Taking a seat, the Hyuga almost shrunk into her overly sized sweater, where the gray lint of it was sticking to the chair. To her left was the beautiful blond she had just bumped into a few moments ago, and in front stood a man with spiky grey hair and a bored looked on his features, she presumed. A permanent coughing mask almost glued to his face. He coughed into a closed fist, something Hinata seemed to notice a few people in here do a lot, and just take their appearance in for two seconds. Running his fingers through his light locks, he was about to part his lips, to only have it closed by the blond's greeting.

"Ah, Good afternoon," She began and sat up properly while smoothing away any lines that her purple pencil skirt might have had. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, it's a pleasure to meet you." Extending her hand, he gingerly accepted the proposal and shook back.

"And yours?" He asked to the other woman, not expecting to receive the same treatment.

"H-Hinata, sir. Nagumo, Hinata." She mentally patted herself on the back for not stuttering her name the second time, a smile forming on her features. Making a quick glance, she met his eyes and instantly looked back down, it was his turn to smile behind his mask. "Ah, well it is a pleasure to meet you as well, ."

"Well then, let's get started. As you both know, S&amp;U Fashion is looking forward to hiring a new secretary, now, why don't you both tell me a little about yourselves? Let's start with you, Ms. Yamanaka. Tell my why you want this position and if you have any experience." His eyes darted back onto the clip board and started to review the material in his finger tips as he listened to her speak.

Ino felt like this was her time to shine, more than the twinkle in her eye and shine in her hair. "Let me be perfectly honest, , I've honestly never worked before..." She examined her nails for a split second, "I'm here because Sakura, Sasuke's fiance, told me there was a job available. I mean..." she tried not to scoff at her own self worth, "I did accomplish seven semesters of Finance in Konoha University. My knowledge will make up for the lack of experience." She flashed him a sincere smile. It was true though, she may not have finished, but every class she did take, she ended up scoring in the top ten. It wasn't her fault life happened and then all of a sudden she didn't need to go to school.

"Ah, I see... Sakura, huh?" He couldn't help but connect the dots as to what the pink haired goddess was planning. He needed a smoke about now. Tilting his head over to the other girl, he gave a curt nod so she could go. Taking in a deep breath, she held onto her finger tips tightly and tried her hardest to not stutter, even if the look from the blue eyed woman next to her was unnerving.

"I... I too have n-no experience." A short paused filled the air as she took in a deep breath, meanwhile Ino did the same but to control her temper and bring herself more patience, she really couldn't stand this Hinata chick. "I s-studied Economy in Konoha University's branch of Economy and Finance as well, graduating with the second h-highest grading score in my degree of BA in Business Economics. Later I d-did a course i-in Accounting and a Post Grad in Finances. I-I also worked as vice president under, Tsunade Senju in t-the National Konoha Bank. I left her reference number there if you n-needed to c-check anything." Kakashi blinked and was more than slightly surprised at what he was hearing. The fact that Tsunade had done such a thing amazed him, working with her a few times before just made him realize what affect the silly and odd looking girl could of had on her. Ino on the other hand was frowning and tapping her perfectly manicured fingertips against the mahogany wooden table.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you have so much under your belt, Miss Nagumo, why start as a secretary?"

"Competition..." Hinata couldn't help, but mutter. Her eyes danced across the room trying to avoid their chilling glances even if it were only for a bit. She hadn't had the chance to go so far in an interview before, and hoped it would change soon enough, especially with this one. Kakashi didn't need her to speak anymore. He knew exactly where she was going with this. She was ugly, and in such, no one wanted to take care of the burden, even if she was so skilled in everything. It made him almost feel sad for her. Almost.

"And the language department...", he continued.

"English and Japanese. I've taken a few semesters of Mandarin as well." Ino's frowned changed to that of a smile, hands neatly placed over a crossed knee. A look that was sent Hinata's way that she would have been scared of, but with languages she was more than prepared.

"I can s-speak, write, and read fluent J-Japanese-"

"I would hope so, because so far it doesn't seem like it..." Smirked Ino as a grin stayed on her features and Kakashi tried hard to not laugh. Meanwhile Hinata fought back the small tears that were starting to form, how uncalled for from the blond. "As I w-was saying," She took one more deep breath, "I c-can also do the same for E-English, Spanish, and French." At that Kakashi was even more impressed, but Hinata knew better. She had to be strong, not even for herself, but for her crippled father and little sister.

"And your personal lives? Married, single, or divorced?"

"Well I was married to Mr. Akimichi, Choji Akimichi.-"

"Oh? The owner of Akimichi Steakhouse and Japanese fine cuisine? I believe I've had a few discussions with his father before. Quite the man." He muttered the last part mostly to himself, not sure whether to continue it or not. The conversation he was having with these two woman was like a bad waltz on repeat.

"Yes, exactly that one. We separated a year ago, and then after that year was up, I decided to take my life back on track. And here I am." A large smile formed on her face.

It was just one more surprise after the other, almost made him wonder where Sakura met the blond, then again he didn't care that much. He lazily looked over to the other girl as she seemed to somehow even be able to sink deeper into her sweater. Quite unappealing. Hinata just shook her head in disagreement.

"Single..."

"With that attitude, who wouldn't?"

And mentally scoffed. Hinata had turned her head so fast she was sure to suffer from whiplash a moment after she'd leave. A slight frown emitted on her features and calmed herself. The blond was of no importance to her, especially to have her feelings be ruled by someone such as her. Hinata may be shy, stutter quite a bit, and even have a bad fashion sense, but her feeling were not ruled by others. She had learned her lesson very well.

"Ah... well I see. Thank you both for coming. If anything, we'll give you a call." He dismissed them both before anything else happened. The loud ones tended to win the battle, but the quiet ones won the war.

Both ladies stood up, bowed and headed towards the door.

"Wait, Ms. Yamanaka, could you stay for a moment." And flipped through another document. "You may go ." Not bothering to look up, either of them, Kakashi kept skimming the page and Hinata gave one more curt nod of the head as she left the room. Hinata knew she'd have some trouble trying to erase the image of the smirking blond she just passed by.

Sasuke was tired. Not just physically, but mentally as well. It was fight after fight with his father, especially after he was awarded the title of presidency. He knew it was not only the best for himself, but also for the company. But sometimes he just wanted the older man to just shut up and let him do his job. His lips formed into a small line as the double doors of the elevator opened and both men stepped out looking impeccable. Fugaku was wearing a charcoal gray suit and a black tie with the symbol of their clan implanted in the middle. Meanwhile, Sasuke, was wearing a black suit, his usual unimpressed looks on his features and the same tie. Fugaku casually walked around and raised and eyebrow at the madness around them. "Sasuke, care to explain?"

Sasuke inwardly sighed, "It's Sai's problem." Technically, but his father didn't budge from his spot and forced Sasuke to stop as well and continue the conversation. "He's scouting models for the new line." One more paused filled the air as he almost forgot about what his fiance had told him, "Also, Hatake is interviewing the possible new candidates for the secretary position." And with that he turned his back to his father and kept walking.

"A president should pick his own secretary." Sasuke shook his head at his fathers antics. At the age of 27 and still having to deal with his ass was a pain in on itself. "Kakashi knows I'm busy. He's sure to pick the correct one." That was enough for Fugaku, he could manage the rest. As they walked towards the conference room both men just gave nods of approval at the brave woman who said good afternoon, and the honorable men who greeted them back. A sharp movement in his peripheral vision made him jerk to a stop and raise a thin eyebrow up.

"Kin. What is this?"

She avoided eye contact and moved in front of Hinata, as if shielding her from an unknown force to her. "My apologies. I'll go have it cleaned up right up." He pretended not to notice the papers on the floor or the... dare he say person, behind the secretary. It was going to be a long day and he had no need to be shouting. Nothing else was said as he turned his back to her and left to go after his father who just ignored the situation, but not before one last glare. The moment the new president was gone from her eye of site, she swerved around grabbed the woman by the disgusting thing she probably called a sweater and pushed her against the wall. "Look here you little creature..." She leaned in and studied what was able to be seen of her features. "I just bought these new pumps and black mini skirt. If I get fired because of you..." She took in a deep breath and let go of her clothing, scared she might have to shower because of it. "Just... leave." She breathed venomously.

"Also-!" Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she blinked and thoroughly stepped away from the bluette. " ... may I help you?" When had he stepped so close behind her, and before Kin could notice, the girl was already leaving.

"Yes, Kin be a good secretary and go tell the other girls there are no more interviews." Glancing at her strut away without another word, he wondered if he made the right move. " , we'll give you a call so you can sign your contract as soon as possible." The blond smiled and placed a hand gently on his shoulder, her grip tightening ever so and a wink was flown his way. "Thank you, I'll be looking forward to it." And with that, she ignored Hinata who was standing next to her in the elevator, trying to get away from everyone's gaze.

A hard slap on the back awoke Kakashi from his train of thought and blinked. "Ow."

"Ah, come on Kakashi! Don't act like that, it was just a simple pat on the back." The blond said with a simple grin from ear to ear. His ever shinning blue pools glistening from the lights in the building. He was about to retaliate, but was beaten to it by his voice. What was up with the blonds always cutting him off. Or maybe he just needed to talk a bit faster. "Anyways, Kakashi, are you sure you did the right thing? I mean, the chick was ugly as hell, no offense to her, but she was really smart. I think she'd even give Shikamaru a run for his money. I think she might have been a bit bashful." His blue hues stayed glued on the spot where the girl had stood, and his hands rested behind his head in a casual manner. "I hope I did, Naruto. Sometimes I wonder what Sasuke is actually trying to-"

"Aha, sure Kakashi. I'm sure you did the right thing. Besides, we both know what Sasuke really wants." He snickered under his breath and pulled out the new series of Icha Icha Paradise. Kakashi's eyes widened and he patted his back pockets and inside of his jacket, a look of embarrassment filled his features and instantly swiped the book from the younger man's hands and started to walk away. How Naruto had stolen that from him without him noticing was beyond him, but he did what he was told.

"Huh... did she really think she'd be hired?" Naruto muttered under his breath once and turned around to leave. He couldn't wait to tell Sasuke about that, but then again, surprises were always so much better.

* * *

Hinata was just glad she made it home in one piece and the bus ride wasn't too much of a hassle or long for that matter. Taking off the fake glasses, she opening the door and was greeted by a pair of slender arms around her waist and a faint smile.

"Onee-chan! You're finally home! I'm so happy. Dad's tired of playing shogi with me and won't budge." She pouted and rubbed her face all over Hinata's bosom, to what she only blushed and patted the younger girl's head. "H-Hai, hai, Hanabi. I'll be sure to tell him."

"How was the job interview?"

"It w-was good. I think I might h-have a better chance this t-time around." She stated softly and placed her hair in a pony tail, lavender hues staring into her sisters worried ones.

"What did you say the company you applied for was called again? Saa... uh...?" She scratched the back of her calf with her big toe and leaned to the opposite side to keep her balance.

"S&amp;U Fashion, Hanabi."

"What do the two letters even mean?" She yawned and sat down lazily on the seat near by, body sprawled all over it. "Shitty and Unoriginal fashion?" Hinata stomped her foot on the ground, her apron almost falling from her fingertips.

"Hanabi! Please show s-some respect! And it stands for Sabaku and Uchiha."

The girl only shrugged and closed her eyes, almost as if dying of boredom in the process, she rather would have watched Konohamaru throw up after realizing he ate squash than having to hear their legal bullshit. "Lee's here." Hinata blinked and stared at the door, not realizing what her younger sister was saying. Clearly noticing there was nothing until a ferocious knock was heard that made them both jump in the air.

"Ah, y-you're right." Going over and opening the door she smiled and let him in.

"Hinata! My dear beautiful lotus of youth! Do tell, you did get the job, correct?!"

"Sweet mother of Kami! Keep it down Lee, dad's trying to sleep." By then she had walked over to them and punched him hard in the arm, or as hard as she tried to. Despite the bushy brows and horrible latex attire, the man was made of steel, body more slenderly toned and fit than people she knew. Including herself. Not that she'd ever admit it out loud.

"What's that company about? I knew you had told me the name, but it has slipped my mind. I do know that it makes over 50.7 billion in revenue. Yosh! If we ever start a company, Hinata we can hope that it can get to those numbers one day!"

A sad smile formed on her features as Hanabi scoffed and crossed her arms over her flat chest.

"I think I did well, Lee. It was a modeling company, so they have q-quite the standards. And for g-good reason. We can only sit and wait, but you are right, they're sales have been sky rocketing, even thought there are quite a few rumors." Giving Hanabi a knowing look, the younger girl went on her way and let the two of them be alone, but not before throwing Lee a magazine with the Uchiha in the front cover. Also a few other small icons decorated the border, and one of them his future marriage located on page 43 followed suit. Flipping it open, with a burning gaze he stared at the image, almost immediately falling in love with the Uchiha's fiance, much to Hinata's downed face.

"Who is this beautiful flower for which is but, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and she is the sun-"

"Sabaku. Sakura no Sabaku. Well, actually it is Sakura Haruno, Lee. The Sabaku family found her wondering the streets at the age of five and picked her up, adopting and raising h-her as well. She's his fiance." She patted his back in an attempt to make his crocodile tears stop flowing out, as he kept ogling her perfect smile and green eyes that made a beautiful contrast with her pink her. Who had natural pink hair anyways? Then again, who had grey or lavender eyes like her and her family. The only reason why she had remembered that detail was because when she was around the same age, it was plastered all over the television, and she never forgot that pink haired girl, and how lucky she had been to end up with that family. It made perfect sense now, for all she knew, they could have been the best of childhood friends until now.

"Oh, but she is so beautiful, Hinata. It is not fair."

"Oh, Lee, don't take it too hard. Y-you know what tha-"

"It means I must work harder to achieve my goals so my eternal love, now Sakura Haruno, will be happy." Hinata could only suppress a small laugh and then stare at her friend in wonder. She was just happy that he had lightened up. If something was worse than a drunk Lee, it was a sad Lee.

"!"

"What is it, Hinata?" And placed his chin on top of the crown of her head.

"Th-that man, I think I saw him today with ." Her finger gently tapped the magazine at a corner, behind the couple. There stood an older couple, both with grace and wealth on their features, as black hair complement their coal eyes. They suited each other perfectly. The female had a serene look on her features as the man's was stern, fine lines of aging had formed around his mouth and some on the corners of his eyes. "Oi, could the rumor you were talking to me about have to do with them?" She nodded her head.

"It's i-in every economic, political, and social magazine. The father," a short pause filled the air as she scanned the page for the name, "Fugaku Uchiha, will be resigning and leaving the presidency to his son." At that, Lee pulled back and clapped his hands together, light flickering on in his brain. "It is true. Now that you mention it," eyebrows crunched up together and he tilted his head, "a lot of people were complaining saying that there was favoritism going about from Fugaku and that's why his son took the spot and not his deceased business partner's son, Gaara." Hinata was slightly confused, all the names jumped up together as she tried to connect the dots.

"I'm slightly confused, Lee." The Hyuga muttered slightly embarrassed.

"You know how the company was made by two founders?" She nodded her head, "One of them was Sasuke's father, the other was Gaara's. Well some are saying that to get the last presidency vote, he's marring Sakura. Not even because he loves her, just for that one final point. And a lot of people think that's what is going to be the downfall of the company." They both just stood their, each with a worried expression on their faces, their eyes glancing between Sakura and Sasuke, his parent's, and the red head Gaara in the background with an annoyed look on his features.

"Are you sure that you won't have a chance at all, Hinata?"

"I think the pretty blond got the spot, but it's a-alright... Besides, I heard that they need a pretty woman for that position." That same faint smile appeared on her features. The sound of a fist slamming against the wall shook her from the never ending spiral downwards of negative thought that had occupied her mind. "L-Lee?" The male frowned and parted his lips to say something but was cut off fromt he sound of someone clearing their voice. Both of them looking back, they saw Hiashi in a wheel chair. A very unimpressed look on his features and one finger tip clicking against the metal ring of the wheel.

"Lee."

His voice sent shivers down the boy's spine as he tried his hardest to not show any sign of fear, which was extremely hard in front of Hiashi. "Keep it down." Nodding his head vigorously he clamped his mouth shut, not wanting to evoke the anger he once did a few years back. Moving towards his daughter, he gave a soft and light smile. "Hinata."

"Y-yes, father?"

"Keep up the good work."

The younger couple blinked at his words as she only nodded her head in agreement, and stepped fully out of the way to let him through into the kitchen.

"Someone's in a good mood..." Muttered Lee into Hinata's ear.

"That m-means something good m-might happened." Giving a light giggle, she sat down by the near by sofa, realizing they had been standing in the same spot since Lee had arrived. For a second she wasn't sure if she was happy that Lee let go what he was going to say, or not. Before she noticed, the phone rung two times and someone picked it up. Probably Hanabi. Raising an eyebrow up at her sister's flushed expression when she raised over to them, she was grinning.

"It's from them!"

"H-Hanabi, calm down. Who's them?"

"Stinky and Uncultured fashio-" Swiping the phone from her little sister's hand so fast, it even made Lee realize how fast Hinata still was with her hands and fingers. Taking in a deep breath, she placed the phone to ear and parted her lips. "H-hello... ah, yes. This is her speaking. Ah, y-yes. Y-Yes... of course, I'll be there! Thank you!" And bowed to then only hang up a second later, a huge smile on her features.

"You did it Hinata!" Lee scooped her up in his arms and hugged her, more than happy for her friend and her chance at being able to go on ahead. Meanwhile Hanabi's face turned slightly sour as she walked over towards the kitchen leaving them alone. As the two childhood friend's celebrated, Hanabi handed over an envelope with money to Hiashi. Head held up high, and nose in the air. "_Don't say anything_." She spoke sharp words filled with venom and stomped away. Meanwhile Hiashi just smirked and started to count the bills inside, his dreams never had wronged him before, and it also didn't help Hanabi was so gullible when it came to things like that.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the Patek Phillip watch that decorated his wrist and took in a deep breath. He had his fare share of fights with his father yesterday, and today he had to do the same thing, but with Sakura as well? This was getting out of hand.

"No, Sakura. I will not permit for Ino to work here." A short pause filled the air as he knew she wouldn't like his answer. "You just want to _justify_ an excuse to have a spy around monitoring my every move and help her get out of her economical and financial problem."

She frowned and dug her heel deeper into the dark carpet of the meeting room, she could feel it was a bad day to wear that black mini dress he had given her with a pair of matching heels for their first anniversary together. He thought he was getting tired? He should probably take a glance or two at how she felt.

"That is not true."

She stood up and smoothed her dress down so it reached to her mid thigh. "And if it was, so what, Sasuke? Would something happened?" The pinkette crossed her arms over her chest and took in a sharp breath. "Didn't you promise me you would change when you got your presidency? You promised me, Sasuke! You swore to me, the moment you begged for my marriage, I didn't have to worry about anything. That you would become a changed man... faithful, and being able to control his physical desires. So tell me Sasuke, what are you going to do? What are you so afraid of?" She finished and lay a hand harshly on the mahogany table. Her face probably more unamused than his at this moment.

"Sakura, If I wanted to be spied on, I would have hired _Itachi_." And practically spat the name out as if it was laced with fire and acid, burning his tongue. Catching on, she tilted her head up and ran her thin digits through her pink locks.

"Fine... then it's probably for a good reason. Ino went to the interview and won it fair and in a clean manner." With each step she took, her sentence grew shorter. "She has had seven semester of Finance in Konoha University, far more than any of the other girls that had bothered to show their faces for the interview. Is beautiful, has class, and I can trust her! Sasuke, please honey! You act as if there is another alternative." By now she was face to face with him. Emerald hues locking onto charcoal ones, each as fierce as the next.

"Your ignorance will be your downfall, Sakura..." He breathed out her name in a raspy voice, her cheeks for a split moment matched her hair and her eyebrow twitched, a faint smile appearing on her features. But as soon as it came, it was gone. His next words just awaking some anger she didn't know she had hidden inside her.

"Yes there is, which is why I had for her to be called to do an appearance today, with your precious Ino. You're right, she didn't do seven semester in Konoha University, but she did do..." And he went to list her entire resume, which even to much of Sakura's dismay, amazed her to. At this rate, he might as well pick the secretary over her too. "You make it sound as if she's the eighth wonder of the world, Sasuke." And at that he ignored her and just went to take a seat as head of the conference table and didn't say a word.

Maybe even Itachi would have been a better secretary than Ino. At least he'd join in on the fun every once in a while and not kill it like she would.

"Sakura, I just want to ask her some questions. If she passes, she keeps the job, if not I'll hire Ino."

And with that she gave one huge sigh and pouted, her eyes still glaring at him, almost hating him for giving her that smoldering look that sent her weak at the knees. Shaking her head, she walked over towards him, and kissed him on the lips, savoring his taste. "I'm sorry, dear. I'll go make the call..." She scooted away and sat down next to him to only flip out the newest phone on the market and dial Kin's number.

"Kin... Aha. Yes. Please send her in. Thank you."

Moments like these Sasuke didn't know whether to run for the hill or approve of the decision he had made. He loved his fiance, or liked to think he did anyways. Smart, classy, and beautiful, yet those words she spoke, and her hard headed attitude sometimes reminded him about why he took so long to date her, never the less propose to her.

"E-excuse me..."

A pair of eyes darted over to the... woman in front of them that passed through the double doors. Sakura's eyes almost bulged out of her eyes and mouth hung slightly opened and Sasuke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what he saw. Was this woman real? The pinkette looked down quickly and then covered her mouth with her finger tips, hoping to stop an incoming laugh.

"Have a sit, please." Was all Sasuke could muster as she did as she was told. Nodding her head shyly, she introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Hinata. Hinata Nagumo-..."

"Father..."

"Good morning. Sasuke."

Was all that was exchanged between both men as the older gentleman had formed behind her and she hadn't even noticed his presence. He glanced down at the woman sitting down and rose an eyebrow as well, mentally patting himself on the back he didn't physically shake his head.

"This is who, Kakashi was talking to us about last night, father. Hinata. One of the candidates to be my secretary."

Two pair of female eyes landed on the younger Uchiha, a revelation none of them had expected, especially to Hinata. She didn't think she had made such an impression on the silver haired man.

"The one who worked under Tsunade for a year, correct?" Hinata nodded her head in agreement, much to his dismay. Sakura could only now find her composure and give a blank face. How come she was denied such a position and availability a while back, but this gremlin could have those honors.

"Begin." And with that Fugaku's eyes glanced over at her extensive resume, amusement flickering on his features. No one such talk about Sasuke and Sakura fighting had been spreading like wildfire.

"While I was working for , I was doing my post graduate in Finance. I managed to get the job because of letters of recommendation from the dean of the university and head of the department from Finance and Economics-"

"Yes, we can tell. You have more than enough merits to become secretary..." And casually glanced over at Sakura who had the calmest look on his face. Which Sasuke's dictionary meant the feelings of pure anger. And just like that, Sakura pipped in, voice booming ever so in the small conference room, "Do you even know anything about fashion? Because from the looks of it..." And dared her eyes to travel down the woman's clothes. At least they were clean, even if they seemed hand sewn and stitched together.

She took in another deep breath and continued, "N-no..." Hinata needed to find her inner voice, or whatever it was Lee use to say so she could find some inspiration. Sakura could only smile in content, and gave Sasuke a quick knowing glance which he batted away with a smile blink. "... but I do know this company..." And she went on to talk about the sales, a growth rate of the company and how she could keep track of not only its stocks, but as well the accounting and any financial burdens it may carry. Even went onto saying the revenues and its sale growth not into nationally, but also internationally and with other companies.

"Wait... where are you getting all information from, miss?" Fugaku interrupted her, three minute into her speech. For a second, Sakura could have sworn Shikamaru must of had written a speech for her the night before and she had memorized it.

"Economic and f-financial magazines, sir." Her voice was meek now, as she could have sworn she saw a hint of approval in his eyes.

"Hm, that's quite the information there..." He glanced down at her resume once more, "Hinata. I just have one last question, are you sure you want to work as a _secretary_?" Both Uchiha's looked at her as she could feel her heart racing. For some reason the youngest one seemed pretty handsome, and looking at the older one reminded her of the intense looks she use to get from her cousin.

"In... In a company like this, and with people like you, I would b-be more than delighted too. I know I can learn a lot from all o-of you." She spoke honestly, a sincere smile flashing on her face as all three of them looked slightly alarmed at what they had seen. A picture perfect smile and white teeth. All of them mentally shaking it off, just kept on staring at her until Fugaku broke the silence once more.

"May you please step outside?" She nodded a little too eagerly and then packed up her hand bag and waited outside, leaning her body against the nearest wall, unconsciously listening to their conversation. It's not like she meant to eaves drop. They were just talking too loud.

"She'd make a great secretary. She's uglier than Kakashi's bed head, but there's no other excuse for you to not hire her." He was so close to never having to see Ino's face again, he could almost taste freedom once more.

"Oh please, Sasuke!" She clapped her hands together in frustration. "You are sadly mistaken. But a _thing like that_ cannot be the secretary to the president of a fashion company, Sasuke."

"And why not?"

"Because she's too ugly, and you know that."

"Quite the feminine comment on your part, Sakura."

"Oh, please. And aren't you being quite talkative today? Besides, you're acting as if we don't know you." And gently placed a firm hand on Fugaku's shoulder, who in turn only raised a thin eyebrow at her antics. "You know too she's too ugly to be here. She doesn't fit it, it's not her place."

"And who said I wanted someone pretty, Sakura?" He glared at her, as she unconsciously gripped the older man's shoulder tighter. A second later she let go, "I want someone efficient, who can help me run this company, not some cookie cutter barbie." And with that he sighed.

"Unfortunately, that's not enough, Sasuke." She stood up, a frown on her features as she walked towards the double doors. "Thankfully, Fugaku is here to see if what I am saying is the truth or not. You will be the future president to a fashion and design company, Sasuke. And the person who has to help should also reflect the companies standards. Like beauty, grace, elegance... not some cheap home made clothes that were probably bought at the flee market five years ago. Look at Fugaku's old secretary, she might not have looked like a model, but she had sophistication and an air of grace even I can't match."

Sasuke must have admitted, when she spoke like that, it really turned him on, until she tried using his father on him. As for Fugaku, he inwardly held his breath, and soon enough nodded his head in agreement. An image was needed to be up held, but then again, it was Sakura giving the other side of the argument. Neither male knew if she meant what she said for the sake of the company or just to prove Sasuke wrong.

Meanwhile, Hinata felt a pang in her heart at the pinkette's tough words, even though she could understand where she was coming from.

"Besides, _my love_, if she has such an amazing resume, and she's so good, why not put her somewhere else, Sasuke? Just not here, no, I refuse." Another sour look filled her face.

Even Fugaku had to admit she had a point at that one.

"There's no where else..." And took in a deep breath.

"Great..." She let out an annoyed breath of air, tired of where this was heading. "Now that we can agree that you need a woman with a certain amount of presence, and knowing Fugaku is here, I took the liberty of calling Ino as well. So pick one, once and for all..."

At that Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and Fugaku was more than amused at what was being played in front of him. If all of this was trouble because of a secretary, he couldn't wait to hear the rest of what may come.

"Hey, Ino!" She smiled at her friend, and with a casual wave pulled her in towards the conference room, and with one last glance she tilted her head towards the inside of it at her eyes met Hinata's. "Come on in..." Her tone of voice dry.

"Here they are." Sakura stated with a rather monotone and closed the door behind them, as Hinata just gave a curt bow, and Ino flashed everyone a big smile. Her nude lipstick matching perfectly with the rest of her make up, black blazer, and white pencil skirt. "Hi, Sasuke. And hello, Fugaku. It's a pleasure to see you again. It's been a while since the engagement party." Hinata just stayed quite as she then waited silently next to the blond. Tension rose in the air and Hinata gulped.

Fugaku just gave a curt nod in approval and swiftly glanced at Sasuke. Who in turned just turned to his father at what was happening. The one thing both Uchiha's could agree on, was that...

This was all ridiculous.

* * *

So, Ino is Regina.

Hinata has a pseudo last name for a mysterious reason.

Lee's favorite hobby is Drama. Prepare yourself for some cheesy pick up lines.

And a crippled Hiashi is always in a great mood when he can foresee the future in his dreams. lol

Slight ooc, but I think it might be needed. And no, Lee and Hinata are not dating.

I hope you all enjoyed it.

Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2: The New Secretary

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. Naruto belongs to its rightful owner. This story is going to be similar to Ugly Betty, but with major twist and turns along the way.

I am so sorry this took so long to publish. I wasn't kidding when I set that time frame. Sadly school took over and a few family problems came up as well. But I'm back and atleast trying to update on a monthly base. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Kennedy, the Count.

* * *

**Chapter Two: The New Secretary**

"Enough..." Fugaku sighed, and demanded for both ladies to step right back outside after he saw them both standing with eager expressions. Yet the blond one didn't move, but only flashed his younger son a smile.

"Hi, Sasuke, good morning. I just wanted to say that I didn't want you to think any of this was to impose on your personal life or anything-"

"Yes, I can tell..." His voice held no patience, but was more than amused when her eyebrow twitched in annoyance and followed Hinata outside as well. "Was this necessary, Sakura? You made it seem as if we were selecting models, not candidates for secretary material." He sighed and stood up by his father.

"Oh please, Sasuke." She shook her head. "You make it seem as if I was humiliating her or something. I just wanted you to have a comparison, side by side of what you were getting and the results pop out. I mean, just look at Fugaku, he could barely make eye contact with her."

"I find it ridiculous to have this discussion. If the woman by my side will be pretty or ugly, I assumed it would be the opposite. I thought we had agreed you had matured about this topic. Fine, you want me to contract a pretty woman, I will." He instantly picked up his phone from his pocket and started to dial front desk, but her slender fingers caught it first and didn't let the last number be dialed. Her eyes were glued to his.

"Sasuke, please! Why are you so persistent on this subject! We have Ino, why can't you just hire her?"

"..."

He didn't budge and she didn't either. Sighing, she let go of his hand and took a step back to give him space. "Sasuke, I'm going to speak to you as an executive member of this company, after the ugly girl, Ino is the best option. None of the other ones had anything against her or even had any type of degree to begin with. And now I'll be speaking to you as a woman, you're fiance... if you don't hire Ino, I will take it as a personal grudge. I get the feeling that you're scared that Ino will be looking through your intimate life, as if you don't want to change your ways and wanted to keep your old ways."

He mentally sighed, not knowing how long the speech was going to be. Thankfully not to long.

"You know what, Sasuke..." Her tone became ice cream sweet as she kissed him on the lips and caressed his cheek for a moment. "I'm not going to argue with you anymore. I have some work to do, I'll see you tonight." And with a curt bow to Fugaku, who finally decided to pay attention to their conversation, she left. The father just patted his son's back and only showed a ghost of a smile on his face.

"She talked to mom, didn't she?" And he only received a nod back.

On her way out the sound of her heels clicking alerted Ino of her presence and she instantly walked over to her friend.

"Geez, Sakura. What was that about? Especially with her too? Ow! Why are you yanking my arm like that forhea-"

By now Sakura was yanking Ino towards her office and speaking quite loudly, not carrying if Hinata, who was still there, heard anything or not. "Let's go. That, 'Her' is trying to steal your place." She sneered and flipped her pink locks. "Oh my gosh, are you serious? I thought it was going to be someone else. When you said I had competition I thought I was going to have to come in with high heels and a bathing suit." Sakura could only roll her eyes at her friend's words, knowing full well if the occasion would ever have to rise up, she'd probably do it.

"But seriously, Sakura... what's up with Sasuke's taste? I knew the presidency went to his head, but geez." And eyed Hinata one more time before turning a corner.

Her friend just smiled and shook her head once more. "Sasuke's showing signs of turning into a faithful man."

At that they both burst out laughing and disappeared from Hinata's view, who by now only had a pout on her lips and a her hands crossed over her chest. She wiggled her toes inside her flats, not wearing socks this time. Maybe it was better to have stayed with them on. Sitting down on a near by chair, and trying to calm down, Hinata watched the clock on the wall tick time away. One second at a time. Before she knew it, it was already a bit past noon as her stomach was grumbling, she had been waiting for about three hours. Sighing, she carefully sat up and patted her clothes lightly, going to walk away feeling rejection engulf her like a tidal wave.

"Hmm? Hinata?"

Spoke a more than familiar voice. Turning around, her eyes widened in surprise at who it was and she immediately bowed in respect.

"Ah, Mr. Hatake. H-hello."

He only flashed her a small smile behind his mask, hand lazily placed inside the pockets of his designer pants. "What are you doing here?"

She fidgeted for a moment and tilted her head up to try and make eye contact with him, but before she could say anything the door to the conference room opened and Fugaku and Sasuke stepped out in all their glory. For a second it seemed like they were sharing a joke no one knew, except maybe Kakashi who seemed to also be enjoying their facial features.

"Yo."

He casually waved to them as they both gave a curt nod, then Sasuke's eyes focused on Hinata's figure for a full moment. Smirking he took one step forward towards her. "Glad to see you stayed," he paused and thanked the heavens above Ino and Sakura weren't here to see this. "And I see Kakashi here decided to greet you personally with the news." Which at that the lazy man just blinked and gave them a confused look that quickly turned to one of realization. "Ah, yes, Hinata. I need some of your personal information to finish processing the paper work."

"P-pardon, but why?"

"You're hired." All three of them said in unison and quite in a dull tone, almost ashamed that she didn't at least have a bit of more self confidence. Hinata held in a deep breath, a huge smile spread across her face and Fugaku's eyebrow twitched swearing he had seen that same smile in a woman he once knew before. As for Sasuke and Kakashi just blinked in surprise.

"Thank you, thank y-you so much, Uchiha-san."

The meek girl barely managed to say louder than her regular tone as she bowed, almost a little bit too much.

"I'll be sure to be here tomorrow at six in the morning-

"That won't be necessary, eight is fine." Listening to Sasuke's words, Kakashi cocked his head to the side and turned around to leave once the meek girl walked away after another brow. Something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he also noticed Fugaku had noticed as well. "Looks like Shikamaru and I will have some bonding to do tonight. Speaking of which... where is he?" Kakashi thought in an almost worried manner, but dismissed it with a sharp turn at the corner.

* * *

"Here."

He handed the keys over to his son, and Sasuke could only examine them in his hands. Blinking he walked over to the door next to his father's desk and knocked on it.

"Is there a key for this room as well?"

"Yes. It's the golden one." He opened the door and inside were boxes filled with random trinket, old papers, and some failed products that they never launched. Taking a step back Sasuke couldn't help, but scoff.

"Seriously, father. What is this?"

"It's a room where I used it for some objects that I liked, and for objects that were failures, but I still had hope for some of them to be of use to me on day."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his father's words, especially the way his finger tips gently caressed the corner of a picture frame. Inside was a picture of his father with another woman with indigo hair, but her face was scratched up. Whatever that thing was, he'd make sure to clear it out, and with everything else as well. He had a plan, and he needed to make it work no matter what the cost.

* * *

"Onee-chan!" Hanabi swung open the door and pounced on her older sister, which almost caused for her glasses to fall.

"You got the job, didn't you?" She wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively, an elbow digging into her hip. "Huh, huh?!" In return, Hinata could only laugh.

"Yes, Hanabi. I did get the job. Thank you."

The ball of sunshine hopped on the balls of her feet and ran back inside to inform Hiashi of not only Hinata's arrival, but also of her news. Only a second after she dropped her bag on the near by table, Hiashi appeared with a ghost of a smile, and a bottle of sake. "Congratulations, Hinata. I'm proud of you." Both Hinata and Hanabi blinked in surprise, but decided to say nothing and just take the compliment and reply back with a large smile. Hanabi pushed his wheel chair to the near by dinning table as Hinata followed along.

"What position?"

"It's-" She hesitated for a second and then proceeded, pretending she had forgotten her words, "A really good one, father."

"I would hope so. It would be quite the disappointment if all you managed to rank up after all these years of studying is a secretary position."

Hanabi nodded, oblivious to the look of worry that flashed over her sister's eyes. Silence fell over them once more and she started to make tea.

"What's the company called?"

"S&amp;U Fashion, father." Hiashi stayed silent, feeling as if he had heard of that name somewhere else.

"I know those type of guys, they tend to have parties with the secretaries." Hanabi wiggled her eyebrows once more and flipped it open to the page where all of the people were located for Hiashi to see. Only a sour look filled his features as his eyes narrowed at Fugaku's face. Mentally scowling he skimmed the faced of all of them, but decided to not comment any further. The magazine that Hanabi had in her hands was bad enough as it was.

"You know, Hinata. If I didn't know any better, from the way you're looking at Mr. Uchiha's face, I'd say you like him."

"Wh-what?!" Hinata's face turned red as she shook her head. "Why would you say something like that, Hanabi-chan?" The younger sister could only shrug her shoulders. "Well, it is just that I haven't seen you look at a picture of someone this intensely since... well..." Her voice ended below a whisper as Hinata played with the hem of her shirt, only now realizing a few things about both of those men.

"I just admire him, Hanabi. He actually hired me, and that makes me truly happy."

Hanabi gave her sister a lopsided smile, almost coming off as reassuring in a way, "Lee's here."

Hiashi's eyebrow twitched and Hinata blinked. "What do y-you mean, Hanabi?" A heard knock followed suit and Hinata sighed and just stood her place with the rest of the family. The door was let unlocked and in came Lee in all his happiness.

"Oh my sweet Hinata! Look at you! You're eyes are twinkling. That could only mean two things... either you are in love," a look of disapproval flashed over both Hiashi's and Hanabi's eyes, a sign Lee didn't miss. "Or... you got the job. Oh- with that smile, of course you did!" Happily hugging his friend, he started to drag her out.

"Have her back early, Lee." Hanabi called out, closing the door behind Hinata, not before smirking at her poor sisters retreating back.

Her father's sigh snapped Hanabi out of it as she rose an eyebrow up. "What's wrong, father?"

"I don't trust the new president of that company." At that Hanabi could only form an imaginary sweat drop over her head. "I'm sure the company will be fine, besides, Hinata will be there to make sure nothing happens." Skipping away into the kitchen, Hiashi rolled the other direction towards the living room.

"Tell me, Hanabi..." He turned on the tv, and before he could change the channel, a familiar face popped up on the screen. A woman with long black hair past her shoulders and coal eyes that matched her husband that was to her side. Reading the name on the bottom headline he curiously tilted his head to the side.

"Yeshf, fautheoar?" The youngest Hyuga tried to say with a slice of bread greedily shoved in her mouth.

"Nothing, never mind."

At that Hanabi didn't complain, and only shrugged it off to finish eating in peace, a spoonful of peanut-butter now entering her mouth. Meanwhile, Hiashi was slowly realizing one thing, now that he had seem Mikoto Uchiha up close on the screen, and not on the magazine.

"I've met you before, but where?" He couldn't help but think, that same thought lingering on his mind over and over.

* * *

Naruto dropped the magazine in front of Sasuke who was calmly typing up something in his computer, almost trying to ignore the blond. Meanwhile Shikamaru was leaning his head on the palm of his hand staring out the windows and onto the ever closer sky.

"What you did was absolutely unnecessary and ridiculous, Sasuke." The Uchiha didn't budge. "How could you get engaged in public teme, now every woman on the face of the earth with internet access or a tv knows. Do you know what that mean?" Sasuke stopped typing for a split second, but continued on. "It means you just lost a lot of sales-"

"Yeah, from the female department, he means." Shikamaru pipped in, finally giving his input.

"Naruto, I'm getting married. Deal with it."

"Fine, fine... whatever." He turned his head back for a moment making sure the door was locked before he continued. "It's not my neck the rope will be around. If you want to get engaged, do it, but don't do it in public. Especially in a magazine. A woman will go for a guy who is single, dating, and married, but not one that is engaged. They might think he's the one that is actually in love."

Shikamaru almost couldn't control the smirk that tried to appear on his face. Naruto acted brash and loud, even hyperactive and uncontrollable but lately, either due to his or Sasuke's influence the blond was becoming a menace with he ladies. Picking them up, and finishing with them by night time, for a moment, Sasuke ways with the woman would be beat by Naruto's.

"Sasuke... are you sure about this?" Shikamaru started before Naruto could continue. He could tell his friend was already getting displeased by the pout on his face. "You can lie to the world, even Sakura, but not to me Sasuke. I know you're not in love with her." Coal eyes flickered over to a familiar pair, and then back to the computer screen.

"Ugh... come on Sasuke. Why not just call back from what the magazine said? Say you were drunk, and it was a mistake!" Naruto casually flipped the cheap paper over to the front cover and stared at his friend kissing the girl he once use to have a crush on.

"Naruto, don't say something so troublesome as that, come on. The moment he says it was a mistake is the moment we'll be visiting him in the hospital for a bullet in his back."

Naruto pondered the thought for a second and gave a small laugh. "True, he already did get into a fight with Sakura-chan over the dumbest thing."

For Naruto to say it was dumb, it pretty much had to be true to an extent."Oh?"

"I hired a secretary she didn't like." Sasuke pipped in, this time clicking around rather than typing.

"Let me guess; pretty, with a petite figure, brain the size of a walnut, and breasts the size of her head?" At that Naruto roared with laughter causing him to almost tumble back and fall from the chair he was seated.

"Am I missing something?"

Catching his breath, the blond answered for Sasuke, "Oh boy are you." He snickered once more before continuing, "He hired this ugly girl to be his secretary, no sense of fashion, and bed hair so bad she makes Kakashi's hair seem good. She apparently worked with Tsunade, and has a extensive record in finance and economics." Hearing that caused Shikamaru to raise in eyebrow in surprise.

"Huh..."

Even though he didn't feel like explaining himself to anyone, he knew it would be best for Shikamaru to hear it from him. "I want this company to work out. I don't care who or what it is that is helping me achieve that goal."

"I'd be careful, Shikamaru." Continued Sasuke and closed his laptop shut. "She could probably be as good as you."

"So you're telling me, you go into a fight with Sakura because you picked the ugly girl over a model with 90 - 60 - 90 proportions?" Sasuke's silence was more than enough of an answer to him.

"That's what I said! But noo, I'm just the annoying one." And Naruto crossed his hands over his chest before something came up in his mind. "Both of you are crazy. I still don't know why you hired the ugly chick."

Hinata's file was handed over to Shikamaru as he casually took Sasuke's silent side in this battle.

"Huh, she even got a recommendation later from Tsunade. Is it true Sakura couldn't get one?" Shikamaru duly noted and continued on to read. 'Her name is Hinata...' He paused and looked out the window for a second, and back at the paper looking at her last name properly. 'Couldn't be...' After his thought process stopped at an unwanted place, he failed to realize Naruto was still blabbering to Sasuke about switching his mind.

"...-how many drinks did you have, Sasuke?"

The raven haired man sighed and gently rubbed his temples, "None, but I'm regretting no having a few as of now. " At that Naruto smirked and stood up.

"Sasuke, look at me... now look into my eyes."

"Its really awkward when you say it like that, Naruto. It makes me want to punch you." Looking into Naruto's eyes with boredom he waited for him to continue.

"Do you like me, Sasuke-kun?" He cooed and tried to almost gently tap Sasuke on the tip of his nose. Almost. Sasuke was too fast, one second slower and Naruto probably would have been without a finger. In return, the little scene ceased a laugh from Shikamaru, while Naruto joined in loudly and sat back down.

"Naruto... " Sasuke hissed venomously.

"Don't look at me like that. You're acting like there's something wrong with me. If anything, there's something wrong with you. You went from being yourself, to then being faithful, and all of a sudden getting married in a couple of months and now you hired some random ugly chick to be your secretary. If you keep that up, you'll in Sai's hands before the end of the night." Slyly commented Naruto, making a mental note to check the locks on his apartment when he got home.

Even at that last comment Sasuke had to repress that laughter that dared to almost escape. "Sai wished he could have me."

"But is it true you defended her?" Shikamaru closed the file and placed it on Sasuke's desk to look at both of them.

* * *

"Did he seriously defend you, Hinata-chan?" Asked Lee curiously.

"Yes Lee, he did." She spoke softly, and in a happy and fond tone. Now that they had passed the large park and river by her house, they made their way close to the nearest grocery store.

"His fiance Sakura, the one you like, she wanted the pretty one with blond hair and slender built." At that Lee tried to figure out which one she was, "but Sasuke-san wouldn't have any of it."

"See, and your father worries for no reasons at all. Do no fret, Hinata-chan, you'll have a great future in your hands.

"In any case..." They entered the grocery store and headed straight for the baking isle. "Tomorrow I'll go in my best dressed a-attire. And when I get my first paycheck, I'll buy some clothes. I won't let my first real job go down so easily!" Lee gave her a thumbs up and proceeded to grab some new disposable aluminum pans for Hinata.

"But Hinata-chan... have you told your father about being a secretary?"

She shifted her weight from foo to foot anxiously, eyes glancing over for some ingredients. "No..."

"Are you sure it's alright to not tell them, not even Hanabi?" a worried tone slipped from Lee's words.

"Maybe I'll tell Hanabi, but not n-now." She took in a deep breath. "I'll tell father when they ascend me up in position... hopefully it's soon though. But..." She turned to face Lee, a hand gently touching his shoulder. "And the first thing I'll do, is get them t-to hire you."

Lee looked at Hinata flabbergasted, almost dropping the light pans from his grip. "Oh, Hinata, that is so sweet of you. You definitely have the burning flowers of youth on you!" And somehow he managed to hug Hinata tightly as she could only giggle at his antics.

"Oh please Lee, come on. You're my best friend. I'd do anything f-for you. I'm not the only one who has had a rough t-time finding a j-job." Having been let go, the oldest of the Hyuga children made sure she had everything she needed in her hands and started walk towards the cash register.

At this point, Lee was just happy for his friend's achievement.

* * *

**The Next Day.**

"- so how about we go over to my house, you know. Maybe get a drink, talk about my workout routine- Hey... Hey!"

A man with a security uniform called out to Hinata who was almost entering the companies doors. Stopping right in her tracks, she recognized the man and took a small step back and away from him and the doors.

"Y-yes?"

"What are you doing here?" He commanded, a hint of anger in his tone. Mostly because the girl he was talking to probably would have up and left by the time he got back. He had a confused look on his face, then it hit him, a lot of disgust was now prominent on his features. She was the girl from yesterday or the day before who was going in for a job interview. Although this time she seemed a bit more outspoken, even if by a little.

"I'm the n-new se-secretary..." She still kept her face down, knees together, the reflection on her glasses didn't allow for him to make eye contact with her.

"Huh... Interesting. Well I'm commander, Suigetsu, of the armed forced. Nice to meet you.." He sighed in exhaustion, as she only nodded in agreement and replies with a faint, pleasure to meet you.

Still not believing it, he pulled out his cellphone instead of his walkie talkie and dialed Sasuke's number. Before he could open his mouth, his ear heard two sentences and it seemed like Sasuke had already predicted this outcome. Sighing, he apologized and moved out of the way for her to walk, which she only smiled to him in gratitude.

For a split second, and only that, her smile had captivated him. Realizing what he had felt, a shiver ran down his spine and he took out a stick of gum and shoved it in his mouth.

"Heh... as if."

By the end of Suigetsu's thoughts, Hinata was at the top floor and walking towards where, from what the directory on the first floor said, the president's office. And where ever the president is, the secretary's desk shouldn't be too far behind.

Smiling at her thought process, it became clear as the desk was empty with nothing and she decided to take a seat and waited for the president. She was about five minutes early.

"Oh?" A woman passed by and rose her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you the new secretary?" Hinata could only meekly nod her head. The other woman gave her a warm smile, "Not to worry, I'll call Uchiha-san out for you." Hinata could only give a curt nod in response as the woman disappeared soon after.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice made Hinata jump almost right out of the chair. Green and blue hues were looking at her with disgust. Ino was wearing a white blouse buttoned almost too low her taste, and a black pencil miniskirt too short for anyone's taste. Meanwhile Sakura was wearing a white pant suit and green blouse that matched her eyes.

"O-oh... the..."

"Speak up, I can't hear you..." barked Sakura, almost out of annoyance and Ino could only smirk.

"I-I just arrived and...-"

"Good morning, honey." Sasuke casually appeared from down the hall, impeccable as always and wearing a black, but a red tie. He leaned over and kissed Sakura on the lips lightly as she gladly returned it.

"Yamanaka-san..." He tiredly began and somehow managed not to roll his eyes at her attire. "You can organize your things there, Nagumo-san, please come with me. I'll guide you to your office." At that Sakura repressed a tight look of disapproval, but just stayed put next to Ino. Hinata on the other hand followed Sasuke to his office and blinked when she saw people coming out of another room in it. She stared at it curiously as he continued to walk towards and then into it.

"This will be your office in about 15 minutes." She could only nod slightly, still looking around it, seeing how it was filled with random things and a desk.

"There's a computer being sent on its way as of this moment, and telephone with a few extensions, one which is my private line." He paused and looked at her, waiting for a reaction, and was satisfied she didn't give one. At least she wasn't an annoying fan girl. "Anyways, while they're fixing up this up, go to the administrative department, Kakashi Hatake's , and look for his secretary Kin, will be waiting for you to sign the papers."

He paused and saw her still in the same spot.

"I detest slow people..." Was all he said as he walked away from view and she new that was her hint to get it moving. Doing such, she went on a sort of fast past, and especially hurried it up when she moved past Ino and Sakura who were having a coffee and laughing about something in a magazine. Although, right when she was about to get in the elevator, Mikoto and Fugaku appeared, which only the male closed his eyes and sighed.

"Excuse me..." She said softly and got in, Mikoto only smiled softly in return and kept walking with Fugaku. "Oh? And who was that dear?" Her tone bitter sweet.

"That was the new secretary..." She stayed silent and only smiled, but decided against it, "I thought Ino was going to be the new secretary, being friends with our Sakura and all."

"Sasuke will explain the rest..."

"I'd hope so, not to sound rude, but her attire isn't ... work appropriate."

"The only place those clothes are appropriate for are for a funeral." Pipped in Sakura as she leaned in, and her mom and dad, Ino then proceeded to shake hands of both of Sakura's parents.

"Well, this is our new secretary!" Sakura said happily and Ino did a small twirl as Mikoto could only suppress a light laugh. "It's a good thing she's the secretary now, if it would have been in Fugaku's younger days, he would have been here 24 hours a day, or I would have divorced him."

And the mom's antics, the woman shared a small laugh at the blushing Fugaku who could only shake his head side to side in displeasure. "Ino, just please lead up to where my son is." She grinned from ear to ear, flipping her pony tail behind her.

"Follow me please~." And a few feet away, Sasuke was surprised, but didn't show it, to see his parents.

"Hey there, Sasuke." Ino poked her head in the office, "You mom and dad are here to see you."

"Mother, father." A curt bow as he went over towards them, a bit late on Ino's part though. Sakura strolled in right after.

"Sasuke, honey..." And smiled over at him, another light kiss on Sakura's lips as he didn't move from the spot. "Are you coming tonight for the fashion show?"

"I wish I could, but I have so run some errands first. There's been some damage done to some machines in the warehouse, and I want to see what's going on there. I'll catch you tonight if anything." With one more kiss, he watched her retreating back and then looked over at his mother and faher studying the room/office Hinata would be working in.

"This room..." Fugaku looked around casually, almost as if searching for something, but not quite being able to put his finger on it, especially once it was so clean and organized.

"Is there something wrong, father?"

"No..." Taking the hint, Mikoto decided to ask the questions. "So Sasuke, care to tell me why you hired two secretaries when there's only a need for one, and there's barely any room available?"

Sighing, Sasuke retold the story to his mother, as she glared at Fugaku every one in a while for not mentioning a few of the things Sasuke did.

"If anything, Sasuke. I Feel like you're not too happy with Ino, and I'm not talking about her credentials or ability to do things."

"I'm not." He stated in a matter of fact tone, shoving his hands inside his pockets. "Ever since I proposed to Sakura, she's been obsessed about tracking my every move."

"I kinda can't blame her, Sasuke." At that Fugaku slightly moved away from Mikoto. "You were at a point in your life where you were sleeping with woman left and right. How is she going to make sure you're not going to go off with another model after work, or worse, out with Shikamaru and or Naruto." She crossed her arms over her chest, slightly mad at her youngest son. "Sasuke, Sakura has dealt with your, sometimes, cruel actions and she needs to know that this won't all go to waste. She has to know she can believe in you. Besides, you're engaged." She gave him a warm smile.

He sighed, he wasn't going to fall for that again. "I understand mother, which is why despite it all I still kept Ino in here. I promised I would change when I acquired the presidency, and I'm trying. Don't make it harder for me than what it is."

Both parents sighed, and reluctantly gave in.

"Well, Sasuke, we'll see you for the meeting on Thursday." Smiling, she kissed her son in the cheek and started to walk away, Fugaku close behind. Walking them out, he noticed Hinata getting out of the elevator and called out for her.

"Yamanaka-san, Nagumo-san please come to my office. I'll be expecting you." And strolled over to his chair and sat down. A sadistic smile spread across his features as he decided to take his mother's words into consideration.

Ino strolled in first and sat down, Hinata followed suit but was stopped by Ino's words. "Hey do you mind getting us coffee?" She spoke in a demanding and overly sweet tone, one which Hinata didn't know what to do.

"S-sure..."

"Sit..." Sasuke demanded and Hinata did that, much to both of their amazement. He could already tell that if glasses girl didn't get a back bone soon, she'd be squished by Ino and Sakura. "Would you like anything to drink?" Hinata shook her head in disagreement. Picking up the phone, Sasuke called the cafeteria down stairs and ordered two small coffees and one glass of water.

"Oh Sasuke, come on. You're the president of the company for Kami's sake, it's absurd that you have to be doing that. If you don't want her fetching us anything, then the least you could do is give her a list of extensions so she could call." She eyed Hinata once more and giggled. "A president calling, haha, how funny."

Meanwhile, Sasuke sent her a non so cheery smile, and mimicked her fake laughter. "Well, you see, about that Ino if for any reason any of you two would have to bring coffee, it would be you Ino." At that, the blond's smile cracked ever so slightly.

"I d-don't mind-" Sasuke's hand silenced her and she just stayed quiet.

"You're job isn't that." He sighed and silently wished Kakashi wasn't that busy so he could do this himself, but seeing Ino's reaction would be too worth while. "The reason why I called both of you here is to clear out what each of your jobs are. You, Nagumo-san, will take care of everything related to finance, and the expenses of such including the banking ones, and that's why on your desk you'll find a list of all the sellers, and buyers this company has. In a short while after, we'll talk about the programs we'll use to do so."

Eyeing Ino, he turned to face her. "And Ino, you will be in charge of welcoming people, and anything that has to do with social networking or similar to that or closely related to the company."

"I know what I have to do, Sasuke." She smirked and sat up straight, arms crossed below her chest. "Keep up the image of the company, public relations, and attending social gathering, and even planning breakfast and luncheons if needed."

"Or getting me a cup of coffee." Sasuke stated slowly and smirked, even Hinata was having a hard time keeping a smile from appearing.

"Hah... well yes. I can do that as well." She moved her long bangs out of her way for a moment, she knew the game Sasuke was playing, and she wasn't going to give it up to him so easily. "You know, Sasuke, when you look at it from that point of view, you might as well just take the label of secretary away from me, and name me your personal assistant." She eyed Hinata once more, "Besides, it seems to me you already have a decent secretary, I think it would only be fair."

"Hah, No."

"Wha-"

"IF anyone deserves that title it would be Nagumo-san. Besides, you were the one that so desperately wanted this job."

Ino was now getting frustrated and annoyed, her tone of voice raising as well, "And I understand, but I can help you out as well with those things. I did seven semesters in-"

"I don't care Ino." He flatly shot her down, "She has more experience than you. Just let her do her job in peace. Which brings me to another matter. In this office there are two cellphones and two extensions. One of them is my private line."

"I know, which is what I will take care of, Sasuke."

"No, you won't." He smirked seeing Ino's face trying to stay in control.

"But Sasuke, that's not fair! I can easily handle all of your private calls, manage your private agenda, and set up your private conferences. I'm your friend."

"No, Ino, you are not. Anything private, Nagumo-san will take care of it." Oh, he was enjoying this, he'd be sure to hear about it tonight, but it would be so worth it. "Now, any more questions, complaints?" Both woman stayed silent, even if it were for different reasons. Hinata gave a short bow, excused herself and went into the new office room to get everything organized. Once she was away, Ino look at Sasuke dead in the eyes, confronting him for his little attitude.

"Actually Sasuke, I do have one question, are you sure you want me here?"

"Honestly Ino, I am more than certain that you will do well in everything you will be assigned to do. And one more thing..." He leaned in very close and over the desk towards her, "Do not mess with her work."

Ino was furious, absolutely livid if anything. Getting up without saying a word, she just walked out, but sadly didn't make it far until a certain blond haired man intercepted her route.

"Ah, Ino-chan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." He gave her a riveting smile that would make most girl weak at their knees, to which she only looked at him with a bored expression. "It's going to be so fun and exciting to be working with you, well, for the both of us."

Her smile slightly twitched, "Well, everything for you must be so exciting, Naruto."

"I know there's a fashion show tonight, but maybe after we could go out for a bit of beer or we could go right now. I could get rid of him, I know a small little restaurant that you would just love."

She scoffed and started to walk past him. "Forget it, Sakura already invited me to go have lunch with her. Maybe another day." Ino rolled her eyes as she heard his words in the background, "You make it worth while to come to work and try my best, Ino." At that moment, Ino was just happy to be in the elevator alone.

Skipping his way to Sasuke's office with the biggest smile on his face. "Yo, yo... Sasuke she's was so fine. Bro..." He leaned his back against the door and pretended to fan himself. For a second Sasuke wasn't sure if he wanted to ask or not.

"Who?"

"Yamanaka, bro..." And pretended to squeeze some round, nonexistent boobs in the air, earning a smirk from Sasuke. "Good choice though, you do have good taste in woman after all. And here I was worried you'd be drifting to the other side." And started to laugh. "Well, while little cupid keeps hitting you with arrows, my chastity belt tightens at her sight."

Naruto could only look confused,"Huh?"

"She's Sakura's best friend. And to be honest, Ino, is alright." Sasuke admitted. Ino was pretty, tall, thin, elegant, blond hair and blue eyes, but Sakura always just seemed better suited for him.

"I'm glad you find her alright, maybe then I can keep her. She'll be puddy in my hands." Naruto started to drool at the sight of her, the skirt should be illegal in work places.

Sasuke could only shake his head. "The only way to excite that woman is with a credit card, or maybe give her your social and she could get something out of you. The thing that woman needs more than sex is money."

Naruto grinned and rose his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, money trouble, huh? I know how to get the poor girls out of their crisis, or at least for a while." His blue hues traveled around the room searching for nothing in particular. "But good choice, . Yesterday you gave me quite the scared. I seriously thought that you were going to hire the ugly girl-" He stopped mid sentence when caught Sasuke's glare, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked over to where the door was closed in the room next door.

Shaking his head in disapproval, Sasuke stood up making sure the dobe would follow him. "Let's go to the show room, I'm sure the buyers are there..." He said loudly enough for both Naruto and Hinata to hear. He needed to find a way to shut Naruto up, for a bit.

Once they were out of ear shot and in the elevator Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Geez, Sasuke I don't think she's that ugly..." Which Sasuke only sent him a curios and amused look. "If she left that mustache on her face, she'd definitely look prettier." Sasuke tried not to laugh, but Naruto was just having a ball, "Hey, Sasuke, what do you think she eats?" The Uchiha only shrugged in response, "Who knows, I haven't read the instructions yet."

Reaching the first floor, Naruto was in tears, and Sasuke holding it in, face stoic as always. Before parting way, Naruto held onto Sasuke's shoulder with urgency a look of worry on his face, "Wait, Sasuke..."

"What?"

"Are you sure she's vaccinated?"

At that comment even Sasuke thought it was too much. Shaking his friend's hand away, he walked over to where the models were at. For a few seconds, Sasuke almost pitied the young woman.

* * *

"- If you would have been there, if you would have seen it, you'd know how I was feeling Sakura!" Ino blabbed on to her friend as they were promptly seated in a secluded area of he restaurant. "If I didn't know him, or knew you guys were engaged, I would have thought that it was suspicious how he kept on defending her."

"What happened, Ino?" Sakura mentally started preparing herself for what was to come.

"Well first of, I told her to get us coffee, and Sasuke jumped in saying she wasn't there to get coffee, but the little kiss ass said she'd do it, and didn't mind. Ugh."

Sakura couldn't help, but smile as the imaginary scene in her head played out. "So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that Sasuke treats me like an imbecile, and leaves all the important things to her, like the bank finances, and budgets, processing information and important phone calls. And he just has me there like some of those dumb models who wear miniskirts at important events for appearances.

"Ino... I have to questions for you... do you have the experience of the ugly duckling?"

Ino sighed and shook her head.

"And do you want to do that amount of work anyways?" Sakura finished asking, trying to put some sense into her friend.

"Well... no, but still. I just don't like Sasuke treating me like an idiot, and I did take seven semesters of finance. He made me feel below average for Kami's sake. I even told him to name me as an assistance and he refused and said she would deserve. Ugh Sakura it's just not fair."

Meanwhile the pinkette had been studying the menu silently.

"Geez, Ino, I have no idea why you're tormenting yourself so. The rules of this game were clear from the beginning, own her, show her who is boss and what you can do. Don't do it through Sasuke, do it through yourself, and she'll be sure to realize how much of a threat you really are." Ino shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"Well, at least he gave you his private phone directory and agenda..." Sakura mused out loud.

"Well... not exactly." The pinkette met eyes with her blond friend and her face twisted with anger. "What? Why not?"

"He said, that anything private would be for he ugly duckling, and I would have enough on my plate handling what he told me to do." At this point, Sakura was highly un-amused.

"What are we playing at here, Ino. I got you this with a good salary and great benefits on the condition that you would manage everything that is personal of Sasuke!"

"What do you want me to do though?! He literally handed her the agenda in front of me. He doesn't want me anywhere near it and seemed like he wasn't going to let me get close at any risk possible." Ino, in all honestly, did try, even if she knew she wasn't a match against Sasuke's wit.

"Alright, I see how it is. Now you won't have to deal with the ugly duckling alone anymore, because now she'll have to worry about me. And if she knows what is good for her, she'll be on my side, and not his. If not, her days in this company are numbered." She took a long sip of water and evaluated the options in front of her.

"I hope she just ups and quits or Sasuke fires her." Ino admitted, playing with the multicolored straw, bending it at the tip.

"Ino, she's ugly, not dumb, people like her need a little more than that to stop them. No matter how meek or shy their dumb personalities are. God help her if she idolizes him, that will literally be the end of her." Sakura told Ino in a stubborn manner. It wasn't that she was or shy with a soft demeanor, it was simply how easily Sasuke took her side over her's that was slightly starting to piss Sakura off.

Back at the company Hinata diligently was organizing what was left of the office and stopped half way through when she felt a shiver run down her spine. Glancing around the quiet room, she wondered if someone had been talking about her, but dismissed it.

* * *

I hope everyone enjoyed it, I can't wait to see what you guys have to say about this. I know, Hinata is taking quite the beating in these chapters, but don't worry, more characters will come to light sooner or later.

Thank you, once again.


	3. Chapter 3: 1st Floor Problems

Hello everyone, its been a hectic week, but I think I've managed to get into the rhythm of things again.

In this chapter there are two main characters that are introduced, hopefully everyone enjoys it. I really do appreciate all of the reviews, I do look at all of them, and do take suggestions into consideration.

Well, some smut? You'll know what it is, when you get to it up ahead in this chapter. Enjoy.

The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: 1st Floor Problems**

"Tayuya, geez hurry it up." Kin cried out to her long time childhood friend. The red headed woman just growled under her breath. "I still wonder sometimes how you managed to get me into this fucking job." And proceeded to finish fixing her high heels that were bothering her to a new level of pain she did not know existed.

"Geez, get over it." Muttered Kin under her breath, "Besides, all we have to do is babysit our bosses in heels. Kakashi is not much of a problem, how's Shikamaru treating you? It's been about three months or so , right? "The other female shrugged as she made her way over," He's there, a piece of trash, but an amazing one. Can not seem to get anything to slide by him, how troublesome. "She stressed the last part out as they both laughed in unison.

"At least you do not have Sakura ..."

The statement only made Tayuya roll her eyes, "And thank you Kami, I can not stand that self centered bitch, like you mentioned once, she tends to take too much care of her hair when she should be preoccupied with other things." Kin shrugged, but thought about it for a moment as they turned the corner heading towards the elevator.

"Speaking of Sakura, her lovely fiance hired two secretaries ..."

"Oh? Hah, I bet that must have her riled up. Must be some pretty models or something." She pressed the button on the wall, calling the elevator up from its slumber.

"Well, you're half right. One is a blond headed bimbo, and the other a fragile di-"

Ding.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a tired looking Hinata, panting as she pointing down towards the floor. Both ladies glanced at each other and shrugged stepping inside with her. Silence filled most of the ride as Kin pretended not to notice Hinata was there, but it did not take long for Tayuya to catch on, a smirk appearing on her features.

"Heh, so you the new secretary for Sasuke?"

Her voice caused Hinata to jump in the air with surprise as she turned to face her, nodding in agreement a moment after.

"Ah, y-yes. Nice to m-meet you. I'm Hinata Nagumo."

Tayuya eyed her up and down for a moment and shrugged, once the elevator doors opened she stepped out first and Kin followed after. "Meh, she does not seem half bad." Not caring that Hinata was still in ear shot. Kin sighed and mentally faced palmed at her friend's brash antics, ignoring Hinata, they both walked to the back of the stage room.

Stepping out of the elevator, the Hyuga had a bit of a lost look on her face, but nontheless she was smiling inwardly. Maybe this was not such a bad place for her. Looking at the black large note book with a grey wide line running down the side of it, she wanted to open it, peek, but decided against it. The incident that happened a few moments ago still fresh in her mind.

Sai's comment about not touching anything other than this, or opening it sent a shiver down her spine. Scurring over to the dressing rooms, she stumbled upon something she had not seen in a while. Naked people.

Most preciously, naked men.

Turning red, her eyes kept down even though some of the guys gave her weird glances, and even of them gave her a playful wink.

"You, what are you doing here?" Sai was now behind her as she muttered something under her breath. Glancing at what in her hands, he sighed and took it from her, more than content that the insides were not damaged.

"While you do dress atrociously, at least you have a sense to not open and touch things. Unlike the last pretty lady that did so." By pretty he meant petty, "Also, I'll be sure to tell Sasuke one of his secretaries is doing their jobs. "Hinata just blinked and pushed her glasses up a bit, bowed, and walked back in the direction of her office, not noticing the pair of eyes that were lingering on her back.

"Sai, who was that?" One male model said and tilted his head, eyes still looking at the spot where the young woman had stood.

"Hm, who?" Muttered Sai, flipped through a few pages until his index finger landed on the manganese blue, coal eyes landing on the model who would be displaying it rather soon.

"The one with the awkward clothing and glasses- I believe she's Sasuke's new secretary." Stated the model and put on a simple polo styled shirt.

"Does not she remind you of a Hyuga?" A pout almost formed on his features. At that Sai just tilted his head back and gave one of the most obvious displays of a fake laugh he could muster. "In what sense? She does not have money, power, fame, or posture. "He flipped through another page." Not to mention after Neji, the sole heir to the company, disappeared the company filled for bankruptcy. "The model fixed his attention towards the designer. "Please, that family long disappeared after the death of Hiashi's wife, besides he only had one daughter. Hanabi was her name I think."

"You sure know a lot about them, Sai." He chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course," Sai turned around and eyed him carefully but decided to stay silent, that same fake smile of his features.

"Haku, are you sure you want to do this?" He smiled and nodded. "This will be your last runway show, I will not go easy on you just because you'll be my secretary starting tomorrow." And walked away to another room to attend to the female models, leaving Haku to his own doings.

Haku was just left there smiling, a tap gently on the near by wall he was leaning in.

'_And he complains about me, and my emotional mask_.'

Meanwhile on the other side of the building Shikamaru had finished a phone call at the same time his cigarette's life came to an end. Another phone call came in and his eyes narrowed at the name that was displayed on the screen. Without a second thought he picked it up.

"Hello ..."

A short pause filled the air and a small smile lit up his features.

"Hah, yeah, I'm sure of that. Sasuke's doing fine, he had Naruto with him- huh? I think the modeling has started." He shook his head and stared out at the sunset in front of him. "Nah, Naruto is there, I can go home, I already did my part with the guests of the night. A bit of a tough crowd, but not impossible. "

The cigarette on his finger tips fell to the floor and he stared at it with a blank look listening to the other person talk for a few long moments.

"Yes, I understand. Just one more question before you go, do you know what ever happened to Neji or Hiashi Hyuga?"

Silence filled the air and he made his way back to the elevator in one piece. Hearing an answer he almost tripped over his own feet but quickly got a hold of himself.

"Thanks, and good bye."

Closing the call and shoving the phone in his pocket he awaited for the elevator to open its doors and he could sorting out his thoughts. Stepping into the empty box, one thing just kept on rolling around in his mind not stop, a smirk creeping up to his features. "I think I know what you're doing Neji Hyuga ..."

A few short miles away, Ino and Sakura had switched from their meal to a few hard cold drinks.

"Are you sure you should not be there, Sakura?" Ino muttered with a black straw stuck in between her shimmery lips. The pinkette slightly shrugged her shoulders and gave an exaggerated sigh. Her head being held up by the palm of her hand, elbow resting on the wooden bar.

"No, its okay. I told Sasuke I probably would not make it anyways. Doing some errands here and there."

"Are you not scared of leaving him alone with all those models?" And Ino now took a sip of Sakura's drink, her face scrunching up to form one of displeasure. It clearly told everyone that was not her type of drink.

"Sasuke told me he would change, and I'm believing him. I know at the beginning it was not his fault and woman would just literally jump him, but then even he started to see the fun in it after a while. But I know he is changing, slowly but he is. "She drank her drink in one go, ordering another right off the bat," Besides, a relationship can not work if there's no trust. "At that Ino's eyes slightly narrowed as she heard her friend's words. "Besides, as long as one of his crazy fan girls do not show up, especially Karin then it will all be fine. She was probably the only one who ever posed a threat."

Ino just sighed, a look of worry showing for a split second, one that she managed to hide quite quickly too. Glancing away, she noticed a figure looming in the dark corner of the restaurant and her mouth slightly hung open, not sure whether to believe who or what she was seeing.

Coincidentally back at the company Sasuke was accompanying a young model, by the name of Kagome, back to her home in his Ferrari. Sadly he did not even make it too far as the sound of a car honking at him stopped him.

_Hooonk_

A pair of blinding lights illuminated the side of his car as he sighed and mentally cursed himself at whose car it was, and the person that was stepping out of it. Gaara, at this moment liked to think he had patience, or something like that . Slamming the door shut to his Lamborghini, he made his way over to Sasuke's car, tapping on the tinted window for him to lower it.

And just like that, the new president made eye contact with his would be rival and each frowned at the other's company.

"Gaara."

"Sasuke." His eyes traveled to the brunette that was accompanying his side, "Is Sakura in there?"

The Uchiha just sighed and stayed silent.

"Of course not, if she was you would not be so well accompanied." He leaned away from he car window and fixed the cuff of his shirt. "One more thing, Sasuke. Congratulation on keeping up with your promise." And he walked away. It was not any of his business, but he was not going to allow a woman who he considered to be his sister be trashed over by some inbred like the Uchiha.

Unknown to both of them, Hinata had not only witnessed everything, but heard most of it as well. She simply did a turn at the corner and mentally sighed, hoping the other man with the red hair would be wrong. She had seen him before as well, but could not quite put her finger on it. Making her way home, she came to a single and terrifying conclusion about the young Uchiha, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Making it home to a tired and moody Hanabi, she smiled and kissed her sister on the forehead.

"Hey there. How was school today?"

The younger Hyuga shrugged and walked over towards the table where she was eating some pasta. "It was okay." Hinata only blinked and tilted her head, taking a seat next to her sister.

"Hanabi ..."

She frowned and put the fork down, "It's all Konoha-"

"Oh, Hinata. You got home rather late." Hiashi rolled in, eyes glancing and moving between both of his daughters. Hinata only smiled and Hanabi rolled her eyes and got up and left without a single word. Hiashi just eyed the youngest one walk away.

"She had a bit of a quarrel with Konohamaru."

"Is she going to be okay?" Hinata stood and went towards the kitchen, preparing herself something light to eat.

"She has no choice, but do tell, how is work? Is everyone treating you fairly? Do you have your own office?"

Hinata just nodded her head, even a fake smile appearing on her features. Finishing up her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she cut it into two parts and took a big bite out of one. Her father only watching her every move.

"Father ..."

He stayed silent and rose a thin eyebrow up. "Yes?"

"Why did not you ever tell anyone I was your daughter."

He sighed, eyes glancing away from her form, a melancholic look on his features. "Hinata ... there will be a time where everything will become clear." He turned the wheelchair around, not being able to face her.

"And Neji-niisan? What about him?"

"Hinata ... _enough_." And rolled away into another room, bitterness in his voice. She frowned and came to the conclusion that the bread did not have enough jelly.

* * *

Hinata could not help but moan out in pleasure. The way his kisses trailed down her neck, and the way his fingers pulled on her skirt only added to the way she felt. It was coming to a point where not only needed it, but craved his touch, affection, and dare she even say love.

"Ah ... ah. If ... if you keep that u-up, I will not be a-able to hold back tonight."

By now the man was smirking against her skin, lips rolling over the base of one of her wet breasts that he had licked. "Then it's a good thing I blind folded you." Two more kisses on her other breast, "If not, you'd probably would have stopped me by now. "His voice sounded loud to her ears even though it was just a faint whisper in the dark dorm room, the only hint of light was a small crack from the slightly parted curtains.

Hinata only stayed silent to his words, silently begging for more, finger tips latching onto strands of soft hair. Her skirt was now discarded on the floor, his fingers slowly tugging on the side of her panties gently, taking longer in the moment than needed .

He could tell she was anxious, her body tensed under his touch, but finally after so many months of convincing and careful planning, she was his.

"Do you know ..." His finger ran up and down the slit of her underwear, softly pushing and tapping against the clit, feeling it become more exposed after every tap through the fabric. "What I like about you the most, Hinata? "He did not hear anything from her, then again, he did not really push her to answer like he did before and moved the fabric to the side, the other hand pushing the soft flesh of her thighs away.

She shook her head in disagreement, not knowing.

He licked his middle finger, just in case to not hurt her even though she was more than lubricated, and slowly entered it inside of her. A moan escaped her lips, legs started to open a bit more for him, easier access.

"N-no ..."

His rhythm was slow and steady, but would quickly change to a fast one when she took her time in replying.

"Wh-what is it, _blank_-san?"

The other hand moved away from the thighs that were holding themselves in place, and went to spread her outer lips apart so his tongue could tease her clit. It flickered the clit around from side to side, and trailed his tongue up and down until he felt his second index finger could join in, earning a pleasurable gasp and moan from her.

"Did I not tell you to not use, san? _Blank_, is fine."

Slurping up the juices that was starting to accumulate in between his fingers, he decided to end this soon for her, and quicken his pace. Her hips were moving against his fingers and the only thought he had was how beautiful she always seemed to look, strands of hair sticking to her skin. Quickly shifting his position to lay down, he guided her so her pussy lips were hovering over his own lips and his head between her thighs. Scared but excited, Hinata searched for something to hold onto to which he pushed her body slightly forwards and her hands found the end to the bed post. To which in return his hands firmly grasped her bottom, spreading and closing them as he pleased, and pushed her down onto his hungry mouth.

He worked quickly, slurped everything he could and he knew she was enjoying it by more than the sound of her soft voice. Her hips were moving against his face and her back was starting to arch, a sign that her orgasm was right around the corner and even he couldn't wait to taste all of her.

"Hinata, what I love most about you is ..." And he finished her, she squirted into his mouth as her body quivered, and was held in place by one of his arms, as the other hand took to the moment to finger her gently earning another loud moan from her.

"That you're a _Hyuga_."

She instantly tensed and slowly tried to move but was held in place by the second finger that joined his other one inside of her. "Wh-what ... blank?" Her mind was fuzzy, but was starting to quickly come back by the pleasure she was feeling. "I-I do not know wh-what you're, ah, talking ab-about .."

He smirked and nibbled on her inner right thigh.

"Just know that _I_ will-"

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Hinata eyes flashed open as she gasped for air, cheeks tinted red as she pulled the covers over her head in embarrassment. Sighing, she turned off the alarm and took a moment to think things through as to why she even had a dream about him, and their event from college. She went to sit up and instantly regretted it, her panties moist as it earned another grumble from her.

"Oh no ..."

Closing her eyes, she tried to regain her composure, the face in her dreams became more and more clear. The feelings of self loathing and humiliation rising up for air.

"It's been three years, three ..."

She glanced at her phone, a voice mail from Sasuke was flashing on the screen. Looking at it with a distant look, she laughed to herself and shook her head. "Could not be ..."

* * *

Making it past Suigetsu that morning with nothing more than a simple glare and bow, she returned the bow and entered through the double doors. There was Tenten behind the counters with a bored expression on her features as she sighed and smiled in surprise at Hinata's entrance .

"Hey! Good morning."

She returned the smile, "Good morning, Tenten-san. Is t-there any mail for Sasuke-san?" The brunette nodded her head and moved a stack of files to the side and picked up a few envelopes, giving them to the Hyuga a moment after. "I'm glad to see you're still here." Hinata blinked, a confused looked switch to one of happiness as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Thank you, Tenten-san. I'll s-see you later."

The bun headed girl shrugged and waved goodbye to her, "Tenten is fine, do not worry about it." And watched Hinata run off, or attempted to.

"Oi, Ten..ten ... l ..." huffed a tired and seemingly exhausted Tayuya as she laid her sweaty face over the cold glass of the stand that Tenten stood behind.

"Geez, Tayuya, what happened to you?"

"Car ... broke down ..." she took a gasp of air, trying to regain her composure. "Had to walk over here, just a few miles. I had to make it in time before Shikamaru got here." At that Tenten almost pitied the woman. "Oh, do not say it like that, I'm sure Shikamaru would understand, besides, he seems like the one with some common sense." She continued on, giving Tayuya a knowing look.

"Ug ... I forgot, he usually comes in late." Growling in frustration, she laid her hand on the glass, palm up. "Hit me, how big is it time time."

Tenten went on giving a weak laugh and handed her a large stack of papers, to which she could see Tayuya's patience run extremely thin. "Hey there ladies ..." Stated Kiba with a large smile on his face, elbow on the glass wiggling his eyebrows at both of them. To which Tenten tried not to laugh, and Tayuya just sighed in frustration once again, ditching her companion.

"I'll see you later, Tayuya." She got no reply, but a small wave of the hand.

"What is it Kiba?" He handed a small yellow package over to Tenten as she studied the outside plain cover curiously. "Hm?"

"It's for Sai-san. It has inside the new color palette for next season. I hear mint is going to be really popular."

"Huh, would not have guessed." She mumbled and placed it to the side, "By the way, did you finish depositing the money in the banks, and sent the letters out?"

He nodded his head in agreement. "Yes and yes, pretty lady. Why ya 'ask? Any letters I need to send up to those idiots up there?" She shook her head and threw a few things to the side. "Nah, Sasuke's new secretary has it covered. "

"New?" He grinned from ear to ear.

Tenten knew that look and frowned. "Kiba ... no." He snickered and stood up straight, adjusting his tie and fixing his hair, this caused Tenten to stand up and reach out for him to which he dodged the attack. "Kiba come on, do not be mean. She's quite nice. And sometimes your pranks go too far. "

"Oh please, it's not like I'm going to bite her." And with that, he went after her. A few seconds later he opened the door slightly and saw her working something around at Sasuke's desk. Gaining some courage and face, he entered the room quietly.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" His face as stoic as he could manage.

"I'm Sasuke-san's secretary, Hinata Nagumo." She smiled to herself, happy for not stuttering in front of him, even though she was more than surprised by his visit. "I was just organizing his mail before he came in."

"Aha ..." He eyed her up and down for a moment, pretending to stroke his non existent goatee, at the same time eyeing everything inside the room. Kiba was almost jealous as the design and the comfort of it, it seemed like you could host a party inside of it and still have space to invite even more people. "I can see that, but where is he?" And sat down on the chair while gently put his feet on the desk, resting them for the moment . The last thing he wanted to do was pay for an over priced mahogany desk.

Hinata pondered the question for a moment, coming to only one conclusion, "Well, I suppose he is at home."

"Suppose?" Kiba pretended to frown, arms crossing over his chest, "If you're his new secretary, how could you not know where he is?"

"Because he did not tell me where he would be." She defended herself, she was his secretary, not his mother. And even then she doubted the older woman wanted so much information on her son, especially at the age Sasuke was.

"But you see, that's where the fault is. If you are his secretary you should know what he is doing, with who he is doing it with, and how he got there." Hinata blinked in confusion, was he trying to rebut everything she was thinking. There was no way she would do that, it made perfect sense, but then that's where white lies come in. The ones she'd say to others like he's in a conference meeting, or he's out of town. People practically begged for those to be told to them.

Kiba could feel it, he was losing control to his laughter and got up quickly to look at the overcast sky outside. Glancing at his watch, he new he only had moments left to spare and had to finish this as quickly as possible, " Look at the time, who does Sasuke think he is? Why is he not here yet ..." He sighed and shook his head. "Looks like I will have no choice but to leave him a note- that's right get to it . "

Hinata sat down and took a piece of paper and pen, waiting to listen and write diligently, despite the strange circumstance she was placed under this morning. "For Sasuke Uchiha, from the esteemed Kiba Inuzuka ..."

It finally clicked to Hinata what she was doing, and to who. For all she new, she could be letting a total stranger take advantage of this situation, "I'm sorry, I think you already know I am new here but I do not know who you are, n-never the less what you are doing here ... "

"You do not know who _I_ am?" He stood up, an unpleasant look flashing over his features.

She shook her head, her shyness creeping in as she looked at the ground, now standing up with him, but also standing up for her belief. 'If anything, I'm sure Sasuke-san will understand!'

"Well, who contracted you?" Her lips lightly parted as she quickly looked up at him surprised, never expecting to hear that question, and with that neutral tone.

"Sasuke-san ..." She admitted, even though she wanted to mention Hatake-san, but then again she did not know how big the roles were there.

Kiba huffed, now walking in circles around her, "And he did not tell you who_ I_ was?" Hinata shook her head in disagreement almost embarrassed that she was lost to what was going on at this point.

"You know, this Sasuke is really getting me tired. I swear, that guy thinks that because he is the president he now owns this compan-!"

And in came Sasuke, the most bored but at the same time amused look on his face. He was not going to ask, but he could actually see them being together. Hinata and Kiba, had a nice ring to to it. Mentally discarding the image from his head he swiftly moved past them and sat down on his chair.

"Kiba, did you bring in the new color pallets that Sai asked for?"

"Ah, yes Uchiha-san. I already sent out the mail and did the rest of the errands."

At that Hinata was slightly confused, her eyes traveling between a slightly worried Kiba and cool and collected Sasuke. "I even paid all the credit cards ahead of time."

"Hm, alright. Sai called he said his new secretary, Haku, will be waiting for you at the airport. Go pick him up, hurry." And off scurried an annoyed Kiba, but not before bumping into a grinning Naruto on the way out. "Yo, Kiba. I just got information that Akamaru was in the vet. He alright?" He nodded his head and cracked his knuckles.

"Yup, just a slight infection, nothing serious. After I finish doing the errands for the day I'm picking him up." Both gave curt nods and Kiba walked away, Hinata noticing what had happened. Ignoring the awkward silence Naruto just sat down, legs on the desk.

"Yo, teme, we have to talk about those points we just got." To which he only got a nod from Sasuke.

"Any calls?" He asked Hinata as he flipped through the mail, "No, sir." Placing down the papers he noticed something off. Picking up his agenda, he sighed and shoved it in her direction.

"Let me make something clear, Nagumo-san ... _no one_, under any circumstance should see what's inside except you." And Naruto took the cue, getting up with a grunt and leaving.

"Later _Sasuke_."

Nodding he continued on. "Let me also be honest. Inside this book are phone numbers of woman that are not only my clients and costumers, but those I've had sex with."

"Ah, well ... would not it be best if y-you just saved it on y-your phone, sir?" He blinked, only Shikamaru had asked him that question before, except the heir to the Nara clan already knew the answer.

"Because Sakura is _sneaky_." He admitted, watching her tighten her grip on the thick book. "It's a lot easier to hide a book, than to keep changing your pass code on your cellphone everyday." He sighed and leaned a bit on the desk. "That is why Ino wanted the book, to just give all the information to Sakura."

"Can not you memorize it?" Sasuke was starting to wonder if he made the right decision picking her as secretary. Then again it was better for a woman like this to be in his company than in someone else. "I already have. But backups are a necessity. "She nodded her head in agreement." Which is why any private calls will be between you and I. Not even my family, and especially_ Sakura_ are allowed to find out. "

"A restriction to look into it unless y-you authorized it."

"Perfect."

* * *

"-oh But please do not tell Sasuke that I told you anything in the restaurant. He'll think I'm just complaining about it." They both gave a small laugh. "Please, do not worry about it Ino. "Ino sat her things down and watched Sakura head into her own office.

"I know exactly how to handle this." Was the last thing Ino heard and noticed a small note on her desk. "Hmm ..?" Her eyes widened for a split second before sticking the note inside the outer pocket of her blazer.

'_Let me check on __before he has __an_ _aneurysm_.' She thought before opening the door to his office. "Hi, Sasuke, good morning,__ I'm__ here."

"Hm, how nice. Now if anything is wrong you can go home now. I've seen enough of you for the day." Ino could feel her anger starting to bubble, he did not even raise his head to acknowledge her presence .

"Is there something wrong?"

. ". We had a fashion show last night, and you were nowhere to be found," Ino mentally rolled her eyes, a hand on her hip, "That's because Sakura invited me out to eat and -"

He slammed the pen on the table and sighed, still not bothering to pay attention to her or jump she gave at his action. "One more mistake like this Yamanaka-san, and there will be consequences."

Sakura opened the doors to his office and smiled cheerfully at him, "Oh come on, Sasuke. You do not have to reprimand her, especially so harshly. She did not even know that she was suppose to be at the fashion show. Besides, if its the phone calls you're worried about, can not you get the other secretary to do it. "That smile never leaving her features as her hand was now placed on Ino's shoulder, and the blond could tell her friend wasn't taking this too well.

"No. That's Yamanaka-san's job, not Nagumo-san's."

"Calm down Sasuke, no one is going to take your secretary. Ino, do you mind leaving us alone for a moment?" The blonde did not have to be told twice to do so and closed the door behind her.

"I know you gave each of them a different functions," he kept writing down some more notes on the paper, "but you gave the other one your private life."

"Your point?" Sasuke was not getting tired, but if this was how it was going to be every day he would be reaching that point sooner than his first year in presidency.

"Oh Sasuke, no need to get on the defensive. I did not come here to criticize you or anything, I just want to know why you did not give your agenda to Ino is all." Her hand was placed gently over his , now forcing Sasuke to pay attention to their conversation. "Ino is a trustworthy person, if you do not think so then you can get to know her like I have throughout the years. Besides you already have bestowed upon the other secretary so many important functions why, why can not Ino at least handle your private calls? "

"Sakura, do not beat around the bush. Tell me what you want ..."

"I just want you to be happy and make sure you know who is dealing with your personal information-"

"No, what you want is to be able to track every single one of my moves, and that's not how this works. We have compromised enough as it is. You wanted Ino, she got to stay. Because of that, Nagumo-san will keep everything private. "They were both now standing, a frown on each of their faces.

"You're making it seem like a hired a spy!"

He sighed and ran his fingers through her hair, "It's been one work day since she's been working here and you already know everything of what has happened."

"Oh Sasuke, please. We were just talking as friends and she just told me what was going on. If anything she was worried that the other secretary could not do her job properly." He stayed silent, listening to her part of the story. "It's not that I am unsatisfied with either of their work, I'm just curios as to what you are doing in all of this." Sasuke only rose an eyebrow up in amusement. "If you really have changed as you say , and you really want the best for us, why is it that Ino can not be the one to take the calls! I just find it mysterious why you are hiding something that I can not know about, especially in that agenda. "

"Sakura ..." He sighed and sat down. "Sakura, if you really believe I have not or will not change, do not you believe the best thing to do is postpone or maybe cancel _our _marriage?" He was looking at her now, a hint of red now appearing in those onyx eyes making Sakura flinch. "If being married to you means that I will not have any privacy in my intimate moments when I'm alone or you'll be trying to manipulate everything I do, then I can not have that. "

Intimacy was the word, the word that switched everything around and was always highly recommended for Sasuke to use by Shikamaru, against Sakura in moments like these.

"She's a nobody Sasuke! For all we know she could probably run off with all your information like Naruto's last secretary did many months ago." She stated angrily, slamming her hands on the table.

"That's exactly why, she's a nobody. One that does not care about what I do, or do not do. And it seems that it's also important for the rest of the people here in this company. I will not how my private life displayed for everyone to see. "

"You know what I think about all of this, Sasuke? It's that you are reserving that privacy so that your little girl friends can call you, and maybe even do things with you that a married man should not be doing with other woman! "

"Sakura, are you listening to yourself?"

She frowned, "Sasuke, I am not stupid. I bet your new secretary will probably disguise your little dates as conferences or small business trips you'll be doing in secret."

"Please Sakura, she's not here for that. You've seen her resume, you know where her skills lay at." She was not budging, even if Sasuke was caressing her face in a way she really enjoyed, or if his words were starting to sink into her brain. "Besides, have not you seen the magazines? Is not the fact that I've screamed my love for you out to the world enough?"

She moved her head away from his hand, as much as it pained her, "For me, yes. But I doubt it will be enough for them. You make it seem like they will not come here for you, especially a Mikasa Ackerman or worse Karin! "

"Sakura, enough ... they will not do anything."

"Sasuke ..." She took a step over towards him, "If any of them dares to take a step inside of this company I swear that I will lose all-"

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Rin-_

"Huh ... wait, who just answered the phone?"

"The other secretary I presume ..." Sakura was there in a slight state of shock, not believing what she had heard. "_She's_ been here this whole time?"

And as if one cue Hinata came out of the door, excusing herself. "Excuse me, but there seems to be a problem Sasuke-san." He sighed and eyed his soon be wife rubbing her temples for a moment, "What is it ? "

"It's a bit of a _personal_ p-problem ... sir." Sasuke eyed her for a moment, but none the less reluctantly followed her into the tiny room next to his office. "What is it ..."

* * *

"Thank you, sir." Stated a woman as she handed a hefty amount of money to the taxi driver who greedily accepted it. Standing in front of the fashion company, she pushed her glasses up and flipped her red hair back. A scowl was now appearing on her face as she patted her white short shorts that were revealing too much, and dismissed the sound of the taxi leaving as she glanced at the magazine cover in her hand.

"Japan's number one eligible bachelor," in the front cover was a smiling Sasuke with his hand wrapped possessively around a pink haired woman who was beaming with happiness, "soon to wed, _Sakura Haruno."_ She scowled, and started to walk inside, but was stopped by a tall man with some shark looking teeth. Before he could even say anything, she shoved him to the side and entered through the double doors, the sound of high heels clicking against the impeccable floor echoed through the halls.

"Excuse me ..."

Tenten blinked and looked up from the pile of papers surrounding her, a smile coming up. "Hello welcome to-"

"I do not need an introduction. I was wondering if I could please speak to Sasuke Uchiha." That slightly ticked Tenten off, but none the less did as she was told and picked up the phone, "May I ask from who?" Seemingly almost annoyed, the red head answered.

"Karin, Karin from Hebi modeling management."

Tenten just nodded, not realizing who she was and just dialed Hinata's number. "Yeah, is Sasuke available to receive a guest at the moment? A certain Karin from Hebi modeling management is here." She nodded her head and put Hinata on hold.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but Uchiha-san is not available to come down at the moment. He's in a meeting and can not be interrupted."

Karin was not taking the bait, not even for a moment. "Tell him I'm here, send it to him in a paper airplane if you have to."

"The thing is that his secretary already told him, but the answer he gave her was that he would call you later."

"As if, I know Sasuke. The last thing he will do is call me back." She frowned and paced through the corridor for a moment, even Tenten was getting amused by the situation. "I need to speak with him right now. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, if that's how he wants to be, you can tell his pretty little secretary that I will be waiting down here for him until he gets out." And took a seat on the nearby chair , her arms crossing over her exposed chest.

"Yes Tenten, I heard, th-thank you. We have to find a way to make her leave." Replied Hinata from the other side of the line.

"That lady came here to start a problem, if you ask me. She maybe a model, but she definitely does not seem like it."

Hinata had a worried look on her face as she sighed, "I'll be down there in a moment ..." And hung up. Right as she opened the door she came face to face with a blushing Sakura, and to Hinata it seemed as if she had come in at a horrible moment. Sasuke eyed her intensely, "Nagumo-san, does that personal problem still insist?" Hinata nodded her head and went out of the room, it seemed like Sakura was acting more calmly and sensible.

Sighing, Sakura shifted away, "Sasuke, I think I better go-! S-Sasuke ... what are you doing?" She spoke softly, her tone of voice embarrassed by his sudden action. Her back was pressed against his chest and his lips were softly running against the curve of her neck.

"Just showing you my affection." She blushed the color of her hair.

"Wha-what brought this on?" Sakura continued on, leaning her head away so he could have better access. "When you speak to me like that, it really goes to show why I've always loved such a strong and confident woman like yourself." Smiling she turned around to face him, hands on his chest as she stared at his eyes," Then, tonight would you be coming over to my apartment?" He answered by pushing their bodies together. "Are you saying we can not continue this? I like to keep things clear. "He gave her one of his trademark smirks.

"It's just that ... this moment took me by surprise. The great Sasuke Uchiha, who is always running away from the topic of talking about each other, wants to do so now."

He gave a light shrug, his hand slowly traveling down her back. Mentally, Sasuke was pushing himself to keep this charade on. He was not the type to do things in such a dirty manner, but he did not want to deal with Karin and Sakura, even if he knew who would be staying by his side at the end of the battle.

Back on the first floor, Hinata came to a stop when she saw the worried look Tenten gave her. Looking at the woman who was the point of trouble to everything now, she gave a curt bow, "Are you Karin-san?"

The red head nodded, "I'm the secretary to Uchiha-san, I came down personally to tell you that he could not come down at the moment b-because he is in a family conferenc-"

Karin cut her off, taking a seat once more. "I already heard that, and I do not care. I said I was going to wait. I know he is not going to call me, I know him!" Hinata was almost intimidated by the fierce look the woman was giving her. "I promise I will personally take care of it myself. Haruno-san and the rest of the Uchiha family are also there, the meeting is quite important." Karin tilted her head to side, almost admiring her silent and calm determination, "I'm sorry, but I will not be going anywhere especially knowing that the pink haired woman is here." At that Hinata sighed, a look of worried flashing over her features as she stared at Tenten.

"It's time once and for all that she knows what is going on with Sasuke-kun, and I! He can not do this to me."

Hinata eye's widened behind the thick glasses, feeling that she would have to go towards drastic measures. "Karin-san, I'm sorry, but you are giving me no choice but to call security to escort you out." At that Karin's angered just flared, "If anyone lays a finger on me not only with Sakura know that I am here, but everyone that's inside this building and all the tabloids the next day will be talking about the scandal I formed here today! So go on and tell Sasuke that if he does not want any problem with his little company and his woman than he should come out here and show his face! "

Tenten tapped the Hyuga on the shoulder and smiled up at her, "Do you want me to call security, I have them on speed dial ..." At that Hinata shook her head, trying to solve the problem as fast as she could.

"No-no, Tenten-san, just call my office in about a minute or so." The brunette just shrugged and nodded her head, counting down the seconds in her mind.

Back up at Sasuke's office, he had Sakura sitting on his lap. "-and I finally have the design I would like for the wedding dress in mind." He nodded his head, running his finger through her long hair.

"Hm?"

"Yeah, it's in the reception down stairs-"

"Call Yamanak-san, tell her to bring it to you." Sakura paused and looked up at him, slightly confused. "Why Ino, I do not mind going at all, besides di-" He cut her off with a kiss , "Did not you say the other secretary had too many duties and we should give Yamanaka-san some more to do?" Sakura slowly nodded in agreement and got off of him, dialing Ino's extension, she told her the instructions to where and how to find the magazine with the design she liked.

"Well, Ino's on her way." He nodded, that same smirk plastered on his face until Hinata came in, a bit of a nervous look on her face. "Is it resolved?"

She shook her head, "It seems it will only be resolved if you go there yourself, Uchiha-san." Stated Hinata in a slight nervous manner and went into her office. Sakura's eyes followed Hinata's form until they landed on Sasuke. "What personal problem is that, Sasuke? "He stood up and dusted his pants a little, "Nothing, you know how untrustworthy Kakashi got with the secretaries after the whole Naruto incident a few months ago", and placed his hands in his pocket. Sakura's finger nail tapped on the desk taking his words into consideration. On Sasuke's part, it more than a little white lie that covered a huge one.

_Ring_

_Rin-_

Hinata quickly picked up the phone, "Okay, th-thank you Tenten-san." And hung up, leaving the the woman on the other side of the line slightly confused. Stepping out quickly, she was just happy she did not catch the couple in an awkward situation once again, "E-excuse me, Uchiha-san I just received a call saying that Aburama-san from the north textile company has arrived earlier than your 2 pm appointment scheduled with him." Sasuke blinked, his eyes narrowed at the use of the name she picked. Smirking he kissed his fiance on the forehead.

"Seems Yamanaka-san still is not here. We can look at the design later. And Nagumo-san, well done..." He sent her a smirk and picked up his jacket and walked out, Sakura eyed his back and sighed, following right after him but not before sending Hinata a glare.

As Sasuke entered the elevator, Ino came out with a look that had written, 'I know some juicy gossip' all over her face. Taking the elevator straight down, he could already imagine both of the woman's faces. As Ino bumped into Sakura , she was jumping up and down in shock and excitement.

"Oh my gosh, you will not believe who I just saw downstairs by the reception area."

Sakura just stared at her friend with a half amused smiled, " Where's my magazine that I asked for?" She sighed and dismissed it, "Who did you see now, Ino?"

"The model from Hebi modeling agency, Karin-" The color drained from Sakura's face as she stared in horror at her friend.

"Karin?!"

* * *

Boom!

And there we have it folks. This week's chapter. It was actually a lot harder to write, especially when I try to introduce new characters.

I think I already have some ideas for the next set of characters. Do enjoy, please review if you can, I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,

The Count, Kennedy.


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontations

I am so sorry for taking so long. I seriously don't know what happened. One moment I'm here writing, the next it's finals week and I can't breath. My sincerest apologies.

I do hope hope you guys enjoy this. Let me know what you guys think.

Sincerely, The Count.  
Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Confrontations**

"What?" Sakura took a deep breath in, hands on her lower back as she looked at her friend in a skeptical manner. "Don't joke around like that, Ino!"

"I'm not! I promise you I saw her downstairs in the reception area."

"I guess that woman does have a death wish after all." Ino just stared at her friend's retreating back in slight worry, thinking maybe she shouldn't have been so excited about telling her that news.

Appearing out of the elevators and in a fast pace, she slammed her hand onto the clean surface of the counter and looked at Tenten dead in the eyes who still seemed to have a bit of a shocked expression on her face after the little incident she just saw with the red head and Sasuke.

"Where's Karin?"

"Who?" Her eyes darted away for a split second.

"Karin! The stupid red headed model! The one I kicked out a few months ago. You know exactly who I'm talking about, Tenten."

"Wh-!"

"Tell me where she is Tenten, did she leave with Sasuke?"

"I don't know anything, Sakura-san-"

"Tenten, answer my question honestly, don't make me ask Suigetsu. If you're not going to tell me the truth I want your resignation letter on my desk right now!"

Tenten inwardly flinched, she didn't know what was worse; looks from people passing by or the position she was in. Never had she taken a side, but she wasn't in any position to be losing such an easy job with such high pay, not in a moment like this. Guilt flooded her as she spoke quietly, "They went out together… I don't know where though."

Sakura took in a deep breath, anger hitting its boiling point mark. "So the girl with no fashion sense wants to lie… she'll pay dearly for that." And turned around leaving a wide-eyed brunette to contemplate what she had just done.

"Hinata… I'm sorry."

* * *

"Sai, stop being such a pain in the butt."

"How can I be a pain in your butt, when the Uchiha has stretched it out enough for you."

Naruto stared with an annoyed look at the fashion designer and growled in annoyance.

"Sai come on, Sasuke's promise when he acquired the presidency was to increase sales by at least a 25% margin, and he can't do that if you don't turn in the designs at least a month in advance."

"That's not going to happen, love. I'm not going to be running around like a crazy chicken to make ends barely meet. My name will be in the line anyways." He flipped through the textile pamphlet analyzing the new materials he could work with.

"I'm the vice president of commercial affairs in this company Sai, please don't call me love."

"You and Shikamaru. Sasuke has a thing for pairs. Is it because he's missing his?"

Naruto sighed and mentally faced palmed.

"Well before you protect your name, I have to protect the company's name that gives you a steady job."

"Naruto. Be quiet. My job is to create, not to sell, that's your job. If you're really so desperate then hire some wannabe designer who can copy designs of international magazines and get us sued."

The blond let a frown appear of his features as he ran his fingers through his hair in a rough manner.

"It's a shame you know, even after everything we have in com-"

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

Sai swiftly picked up the phone, "Hello. Huh…." He paused for a short moment and stared over at Naruto, "It's for you. And by the way, Naruto… be sure to type of my resignation letter double space, nice font, and make it creative." He smiled and walked away after handing him the phone.

Shaking his head, he took it while listening to the shaky and scared voice on the other side of the phone, "Hello? Nagumo-san?"

"I need you to call Aburame-san from I.T.P instantly, tell him that that if anyone calls he has an appointment with Sasuke Uchiha at 2pm. And that they're waiting for him-"

"Whoa whoa, wait of minute miss, just what are talking about. Why should I be telling Shino those things to begin with." He inspected a small speck of dust on his nail.

"Karin, the model, appeared and didn't leave until Uchiha-san came down and took her with it, and Sakura saw-" It was his turn to cut her off.

"Don't worry about it, I got it. You did good, Nagumo-san." And clicked on the phone, instantly taking out his phone and speed dialing Shino, the bug man did owe him a small favor, hopefully he would say yes. A small bead of sweat started to trick down the side of his face, this was too close for comfort. He didn't mind covering for Sasuke- hell he always did, but this might just be a little bit out of his league.

* * *

On the other side of the company Sakura was trailing fire wherever she stepped foot on. Even Ino could sense her friend's anger a mile away, and no doubt was left after she appeared out of the elevator and stormed over to her.

"Well, did ya' see her?"

"No!"

"What do you mean no? Wasn't he down there? What happened?"

"He left with her! Tenten confirmed it."

A gasp left Ino's lips as she was in shock, but inwardly not surprised at all. "Please don't tell Sasuke anything about what had happened. I already got in trouble and he's just going to keep taking it out on me again and again if he knows I told you anything. He'll probably even want to fire me."

"Oh no, don't worry Ino. It's not you who's going to suffer, it'll be Sasuke and that idiot of a secretary, Hinata." And stormed off to see the Hyuga, leaving Ino with a smirk on her face.

Bursting in through the door, Sakura slammed her hands on the wooden desk of the petit girl's room, noticing she had just finish a call, and took a mental note of it for later.

"Where's Sasuke?" She asked in a low dangerous manner that sent a shiver up Hinata's spine, but also made her feel brave at what she was up against. "He's in I.P.T, Uchiha-san."

"No… that's not what it seemed to be the case." They both locked eyes for a moment and she continued, "It seems he left with a model, by the name of Karin. "

"Uchiha-san, all that I know is that he received a call from I.T.P and that he should be on his way so he wouldn't be late."

Sakura stood up straight, patting a wrinkle on her shirt down, "Oh, well is that so?" She eyed the telephone and gave a light smirk. "Then call I.T.P and put Shino on the phone. I'd like to speak with him right now."

"N-now?" The color on her face almost disappeared and she felt her hands get clammy.

"Now…" Sakura hissed, watching how the girl finally obeyed and painstakingly dialed the numbers.

"I.T.P? Yes may I please speak w-with Shino Aburame… yes… yes… from Sakura Haruno… yes of course we can wait." After what seemed like the longest moment of both female's lives, a voice erupted from the speaker and Sakura snatched it from Hinata's hand eagerly.

"Oh hello, Shino, how are?" A small pause and Sakura put up a happy smile, "After last year's incident of ours, when one of our crew members almost burned down one of your precious insect homes, I thought I'd never hear from you again." She laughed in a coy manner, both people on the phone knowing it was a dangerous game they were playing. Shino didn't want to get involved in anyone's love life, and Sakura didn't want to accuse someone of something she hasn't seen with her own two eyes.

"Anyways, do you mind putting me on with Sasuke, please?" Her eyes widened as she slowly turned around, "Oh, he's not there?" but she instantly relaxed as Shino continued to speak, "But you do have a meeting… I see. Well…" a long pause filled the air, "When he arrives, do you mind telling him that I'm waiting for him at his office, and to call me please… oh kind as always Shino." With one more smile, she handed over the phone to Hinata.

"He's not there."

"W-well he did just leave, so maybe there might be some traffic to get there."

Sakura stared at the girl intensely, "Do you know where I.T.P is Hinata?" She shook her head in a bashful manner, "No ma'am, I'm new so I'm still trying to figure everything out."

"It's literally 10 minutes away." But deep inside Sakura knew that to get there, there were about four intersection that could even delay traffic tremendously as by much as 20 minutes.

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

Hinata looked down at the phone and picked it up, feeling like a small fragile mouse in front of Sakura who was eyeing her like a hawk.

"This is Hinata Nagumo…."

Sasuke's husky voice was heard barely above a whisper to the point where she had to strain to hear, but was a good thing because the volume was still pretty high on the phone, and she didn't want to cause any suspicion on behave of their actions.

"Hinata, it's me, did anything happen with Sakura?"

Hinata quickly darted her eyes to the woman in front, which was now inspecting something on the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry, but Uchiha-san isn't here at the moment." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in an annoyed manner. "Who may I say is speaking?"

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he glanced up at the sky, "She's next to you, isn't she?"

"Yes, very much so. He will be back around the late afternoon hours. May you please repeat your name for me, please?" The sound of strain, anxiety, and fear started to spread through her. Sasuke knew he couldn't ask for me in such a situation and ran a list of people through his mind. "Jugo. She won't ask you to call back. He's in a place where there's barely any service and he doesn't pick up his phone often, say that everything is going according to plan." He glanced over at Karin who was crying loudly by his side.

"Ah yes, Jugo-san…." At that Sakura raised an eyebrow up in genuine curiosity, but didn't say anything about it.

"One more thing, Hinata… did she figure everything out."

"Most certainly, he won't be back until later. But if it is extremely urgent I could get the message and deliver it to Sasuke himself. He's currently… yes that's right, at I.T.P." Sasuke had to hand it to her, even he would have probably believed it too if he was in Sakura's position. Nagumo was starting to be quite the interesting secretary.

"Are you saying there's someone waiting for me?" He heard her cough and sighed finally figuring out what Sakura wanted. Proof. "I'll go and call from I.T.P, and Hinata… thank you." He clicked the phone off before she could even say your welcome.

"It was for Uchiha-san, from a man named Jugo. He wanted to state that everything was according to plan." Sakura finally turned around and sighed, "Yes, I dully noted. And Hinata, when he arrives, place him on the phone for me- actually… nevermind. I'll call him myself." And with that, the pinkette left the room, cellphone in hand, determination on her face.

* * *

"S-Sasuke please. Don't go." The redhead struggled inside the car, wanting to pull him back in, much to his distaste.

"Karin…" He shut the car door for what felt like the seventh time in the past minute, "It's over." She frowned, more tears starting to appear, he even wondered how her eyes held so much water.

"No! It can't be."

He stayed silently watching her antics.

"You promised _me_ you would break up with her. You told _me_ you didn't love her, hell you didn't even like her. It was just for the sex. Are you saying that everything was a lie?!" Her bottom lip trembled, and her hold on him slightly relaxed to reach over to the magazine that was tucked away behind her, throwing it against his chest in a fierce manner.

Sasuke, for a split miniscule moment almost felt guilty looking at her.

"Next thing I know I see th-this! Do you know how I was feeling Sasuke? It was horrible! I didn't even get a message or call from you. A friend saw it and then showed it to, to find out something like this out the way I did, is not fair for any woman- !"

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

Karin eyed the cellphone ringing on his lap and instantly flew to grab it, but was to slow as he stared at the number, sending it straight to voice mail in a click. Annoyance clearly written on his face.

"That was her… wasn't it?!" His eyes narrowed at her action, something that truly pissed him off. "Be a real man and tell her everything that is going on right now. Everything that is going on between you and I. Own up to it! Or what…. Can't you?"

"There never was anything going on between us, and there never will be… is this what you wanted? For me to tell you all of this to your face?" Her eyes started to widen, hurt flashing across her features, "Do not appear anywhere near me or my fiancé, or my company. Next time I will let security handle you."

Now Karin was livid, "Just you watch Sasuke, I'll tell Sakura everything-"

"No you won't, because _I_ will…", his voice dangerous and cold. "_I_ will tell you one more thing though… don't get into _our _personal life anymore. And if you even try to get in between Sakura and I, I will call every single publishing company and tell them how crazy you are, and what you're capable of. I am capable of making it seem like you belong in insane asylum. "

"There is no one who is going to believe you!" She leaned in, defiant until the end.

"Oh? Who do you think they're going to believe, me or a model like yourself who was kicked out by my company a few months ago for trying to break up a happy couple." It was like a slap to the face for Karin, especially in the situation she was in. Her bottom lip trembled as she saw him step out of the car, not having any more energy to go after him. The car sped up, and she just buried her face in her hands, her heart hurt so much she didn't know what to do, she didn't care where the car was going.

Sighing and fixing his tie, Sasuke entered the building and soon found himself infront of a very annoyed Shino, although to anyone who didn't know him, seemed calmed and composed.

* * *

"Ino I know something is up, I can feel it, this is all just a hoax!" Ino stare at Sakura as if she had a second head and was speaking Chinese. "Uh, well what are you going to do about it. You can't say it was me who said anything." She crossed her arms over her chest, Sakura took out her phone and blinked, an idea clicking in her head, "The agenda… that woman's phone number must be in there. Ino, go ask for that agenda from the snot nosed secretary." Ino just shrugged, and did as she was told.

Going over, she slammed open the small room where the nervous secretary was and smirked, hand outstretched in a needy manner.

"The agenda."

Hinata blinked, staring at Ino's hand in wonder. "I'm sorry I can't do that." The blondie raised a thin eyebrow up. "And why not?"

"Because Uchiha-san told me not to give it to anyone under any circumstances."

"It's not just anyone, it's for Sakura." Hinata shook her head, tilting down as her eyes avoiding that piercing stare.

"I'm sorry, I can't, Yamanaka-san."

Ino clicked her tongue and blew some air out of her nose in displeasure, walking out of the room in a moody way. Sakura looked at her empty handed friend anxiously. "So? Where's the agenda."

"She didn't give it to me."

"What do you mean she didn't give it to you?"

"The kiss ass said that Sasuke told her not to give it to anyone under any circumstances, and when I mentioned it was for you, she still said no. Can you believe that Sakura, I seriously can't stand that woman." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder.

"We'll see about that…" And for the third time that day, Ino saw Sakura leave into the battle field. Right when Hinata thought she could breath, the pinkette came in, almost stopping Hinata's breathing at the same time.

"The agenda. Give it to me."

Hinata shook her head once more, fear starting to be more apparent. "I can't, I'm truly sorry." Sakura's cheeks were red with anger, she could probably tell her blood pressure was above the sky. "Do you know who I am?!"

Hinata nodded her head, holding on tighter to the agenda.

"Then give it to me."

Once again Hinata repeated her words and actions to the other woman's dismay.

"Are you kidding me? I said give me the agenda, god damn it." And literally through herself over the table and grabbed the agenda, trying to pull it from the other woman, who seemed to have as much strength as her, or dare she even say more. It took her by such a surprise that when the phone rang, she let go and Hinata just pushed it against her chest.

_'Was she always this strong?_' Sakura thought as she eyed the woman answering the phone.

"It's your fiancé…" Sakura snatched the phone from her hand once more, listening to the calm voice on the other hand that sent her to heaven, but quickly brought her back down to Earth.

"Where are you, Sasuke?"

She heard him sigh and narrowed her eyes. "Oh, so Shino did deliver his message for me. And you're there with her, aren't you?" Sakura tried so hard to not let the tears start to surface, anger getting the best of her. Silence filled the line as her lips tucked in and her hands formed a tight fist.

"Karin isn't with me-"

"Everyone saw her downstairs, Sasuke! Don't treat me like an idiot."

"Sakura listen to me, she just wanted her job back. I said no, and escorted her out." She heard the sound of pen on paper in the distance, "Yeah, but-"

"I practically kicked her out of the company, for _you_ Sakura." And stressed the word out, noticing how her breathing slowly calmed. He could even imagine the look on her face she must have had.

"I warned you Sasuke. I told you. Woman of her stature and class are like that!" That comment made Hinata's eyes widen, that last sentence hitting a nerve as it reminded her of someone she use to be very close to. "I can't control her, Sakura. She didn't come to sleep with me…." A short pause, "She wanted a job. Completely different."

"Then why didn't you pick up the phone, huh?"

Sasuke patted himself on the back for not rolling his eyes in front of Shino who had an all too amused look on his natural stoic face.

"You probably called in a moment where I had no single," his eyes trailed out the window and looked at the street light, "probably in one of those intersections." Which to be fair, he was having signal problems from his cellphone company after the phone cracked when it Naruto on the head a few weeks ago.

"You know what, Sasuke… I've always admired how you manage to get all of this to work out in your favor, on coincidence after the other. It just makes me very sad and disappointed in you, Sasuke, that you're going to your old ways again."

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Why not just come over and check for yourself then." Sakura was about to say something, but paused, her mind ticking away. "This isn't working out. Everyday you're getting worse. Are you going to just start calling everywhere I go to make sure I'm there? Is this what is going to be awaiting me for my marriage?"

"Are you saying you want to end this, Sasuke?!" She snapped at the phone, even Ino who was outside the door listening intently jumped in fear.

"You're the one who has that answer, Sakura."

"Fine, come over to my apartment tonight and we'll talk about this later on." She didn't even wait to hear his answer and hung up on him. Taking a deep breath, she stared over the secretary. "Nagumo, so you had no idea Karin was downstairs?" Hinata shook her head in agreement, a small wave of guilt started to drop on her until doubt resurfaced for air.

"Well then, if that's-"

Naruto barged in, phone in his hand texting away, "Hey Nagumo-san, I was wondering-!"

"What do you want, Uzumaki? Can't you see I'm having an important conversation?" Naruto gave her a nervous laugh, and lopsided smile, eyes trailing over Hinata's tired form.

"So, uh, H-Hinata… where exactly is Sasuke?"

"He's at I.T.P, he-"

Naruto swiftly cut her off, a fake look of surprise on his face, "That's right, Shino and him had something to discuss at the meeting…" He grin at them both and started to walk away a little too quickly, "Later Sakura-chan, Nagumo-san."

The pinkette's anxiety was reaching top levels, "You better be saying the truth…" Was the last thing she told Hinata before leaving as well. Finally the Hyuga let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, and took a seat. There was still a few hours left of the day, and she was already tired. Sakura walked out and into the elevator with Ino.

"So, did she finally give you the agenda?"

"No…." She spoke darkly. "I.. I think I may have been wrong." Ino stayed silent and walked out the elevator first towards Tenten, who too seemed just a little bit less stressed than Hinata.

"Hey, Tenten, out of curiosity, did you Sasuke new secretary see Karin at any moment?" Tenten wasn't going to say anything until she spotted an annoyed Sakura, who probably wanted answers as well, behind Ino.

"It was for a split second, but yes."

"Looks like you weren't that wrong after all, Sakura." And patted her friend's back gently. Sakura was just going to keep tabs of everything.

* * *

A knock started the poor woman into sitting up, "Come in," and in came Tayuya, "Hey, Naruto would- hey are you okay?" She asked while glancing at the wreck that was Hinata. "Y-yeah, I'm f-fine. Would would Uzumaki-san like for me to do?"

"He needs to see you for a moment, he said it was something important." She shrugged and waited for her to follow. "So Sakura chewed you out?" The other pinkette smirked and walked with the silent Hyuga to shook her head in disagreement.

"Well… it wasn't to m-me really. I think it's just that Uchiha-san isn't h-here so she couldn't take out h-her anger on him."

Tayuya flashed her a bored look and sighed, "None of my business, but that's still really fucking unnecessary. He's in that room to the left." Hinata just gave her a kind smile and bow, and entered the room, a small blush adorning her features. Now that Sakura was away, she could look him properly, and how handsome he truly was.

"You asked for me, Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto was busy balancing a pen in-between his upper lip and nose, a second later falling, "Yeah yeah, Hinata-chan you did a great job! Talking about saving Sasuke's butt back there!" He gave her a large grin, she just returned with a smile and blush. "Thankfully for both of you, I was able to talk and convince Shino to go with the plan. If not, we'd be in Sasuke funeral, and you'd be cremated. "

She fidgeted on the spot for a second. "I'm just scared she'll just start h-hating me for todays actions."

"Nah, don't worry about it, Hinata-chan. Sakura just hates by nature. The important thing about all of this is that you got in Sasuke's good side. If you would have given Sakura that agenda… well he would have sued you, and won, shot you, and pulverized you."

"I know, Uzumaki-san. I don't think I would have done that to him."

Tayuya's head popped in between the door and wall, "Sorry to interrupt. They need you back at your desk, Nagumo-san." And disappeared again.

Naruto got up and patted Hinata gently on the back, "You did good Hinata, don't worry about it. Go on, Sasuke-teme is probably back and looking for you."

Seeing her walk away, he gave the retreating form a funny look. Feeling a vibration in his pocket he saw a text message and blinked, "I'll be there in 5." Naruto blinked again, slightly worried about that, his mouth going dry.

"Shit… Hinata, I'm sorry if I just sent you into the lion's den."

Walking into Sasuke's office she paused and saw Hatake-san with an apologetic look on his face standing next to a smirking Ino, and an annoyed Sakura sitting on Sasuke's desk. They probably had tried to break into the room when she wasn't there, but couldn't because she had locked it before she had left.

"Hinata Nagumo, this is for you."

Kakashi took a step forward towards him, after hearing Sakura's statement, a small envelope in his hand. "Here." Wearily she took it, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, and opened the contents of the envelope. Her eyes read over the contents, maybe even twice as she finally pulled her head back up.

"I'm… I'm f-fired?"

Kakashi could have sworn he saw tears beginning to form behind those thick glasses that barely made out her eyes. "I'm sorry Hinata, but yes. You are to give all possessions that Sasuke Uchiha has placed as responsibility on you, to Ino-san, pack up all your things immediately, and leave as soon as possible."

She was glad she had seen Naruto before coming here, maybe what she was going to say wasn't so crazy after all. "I… I can't. Uchiha-san specifically told me not to give a-anything away. C-can't I just wait until h-he arrives?" Kakashi's look turned into one of sympathy. Sure the girl wasn't a looker, and she had just been there for a day, but it didn't mean that Sakura had the right to belittle her like that, especially make such a scene that the whole company was gossiping about it.

"Didn't you hear what Hatake-san said, Nagumo-san?" She was standing up, arms folded across her chest. "Do as he said. You don't take orders from anyone, especially Sasuke because you don't work here anymore."

A pang of pain hit Hinata, she really was starting to feel weak, and not only in her knees. "Y-yes… but… Uchiha-san was the o-one that hired me, shouldn't he be the one to fire me as well?" Now she couldn't even make eye contact with anyone. Even Ino was beginning to root for the four-eyed girl. She was pulling his comebacks out of her asshole.

Sakura scoffed, eyebrow up, "Sasuke didn't hire you. Sasuke doesn't pay you. You don't even have a personal contract with him. Who hired you was this company, Nagumo-san." She stressed her last name. "Who pays you, and has a contract with you is this company… not Sasuke. And this company is who is firing you. So please, stop insisting on the matter, and do as you are told. Don't make me call security."

Kakashi just sighed and shook his head, taking it as his queue to leave. And Hinata nodded her head lightly, moving swiftly past Sakura and into her room.

Ino bit her bottom lip. "Hey, are you sure you should be doing this? I normally wouldn't care or anything for her, but don't you think Sasuke will be pissed if he comes back and sees she's not here anymore?" Sakura shrugged and ran her fingers through her long silky pink locks. "She took Sasuke side in all of this. If she would have taken mine, and not lied to me, maybe I wouldn't have been as pissed off at her as I am."

Ino's eyes darted to the door, nose scrunched up, "Hopefully she hurries up so we can make copies."

"Copies of what…" Sasuke came in bring the attention of the two woman in the room towards him. Ino's mouth slightly hung open, and Sakura's eyes were wide and saucers.

"Ino, why aren't you in the front desk?"

"Well, I-I –"

Sakura cut in, "She's waiting for Nagumo-san to relinquish all the responsibilities and items you gave her to look after."

"And why is that?" He hissed.

"Because she disobeyed me, and lied to me." Sasuke eyed his soon to be wife in a steady manner. Hinata opened the door with the agenda in her hand and stared, to what Sasuke would describe the most blissful and grateful look he had ever seen on a woman's face.

"I told her to give me your personal agenda, but she didn't give it to me. I needed a number." He in return smirked, and strolled over to his chair.

"Good. I told her not to. That also included you as well, Sakura. I also don't see why it's necessary for you to come into my office giving orders and firing people."

"You don't understand, do you? I am not only sales manager of the company, but also share holder, and your future wife. No matter from what perspective you look at it, she has to obey and respect me, and my decisions."

"And that's where you're wrong Sakura." She flinched taken back by the quick response.

"If I gave her an order, she is to finish it, whether she sinks or swims." He took out his laptop. "You have no right or jurisdiction to be pressing your orders over here. Respect my office and the orders I give, no matter to whom it may apply. I am no puppet, Sakura. If I am here, it's because I deserve it. Now, if you have any other comment or discrepancy, we can speak of it at home."

"But you-"

"Just like you wanted, Sakura." He was getting tired of her antics real quickly. She scoffed, turned out and slammed the door behind her. Somehow throughout all the commotion Ino had slipped away and it was just him and Hinata in the room. Rubbing his temples in a circular motion he looked at her.

'_Still as disheveled as always._'

"What are you doing?"

"I just wanted to return th-this to you. I'm so-sorry for all the trouble I-I have caused. I'll finish packing up a-and leave r-right away." He moved over towards her, stopping at a distance where he felt she wouldn't faint, and truly glanced at her once more after she handed over the agenda.

"Before you go, can you do me one last job?"

She blinked, curios big eyes stared up at his onyx ones. She nodded her head in agreement, unable to say no.

"Call Kakashi from your line." She nodded and went back into the room with him closely behind. He made a mental note to fix everything up in here, but not before letting his eyes stay lingering on a company rumbled piece of paper that had Sakura's signature on it. In a second she gave him the phone, "Hm. Hello, Kakashi, who gave-" he paused for a moment thinking of Hinata's name, "Did you write Hinata Nagumo a resignation later? So ... Sakura. I know you didn't want to give it to her either." Hinata blinked and stared up at the Uchiha, from her chair. Had Hatake-san really been rooting for her? "Next time Sakura wants to fire someone, tell her it has to go through me." Sasuke tried not to smirk at Kakashi's comment and shook his head to hang up a moment after.

"You heard. Put your things back in order. You're not going anywhere." Her eyes widened as she could feel tears ready to pour down her cheeks for what felt like the second time in the past hour. "I-I don't think I could do that, sir."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "And why not?"

"I think Sakura-san already hates for the s-statements she made, a-and she probably knows about what happened wi-with Karin and how I took your side. I'd rather n-not make an enemy of her for the rest o-of my time here i-if I w-were to stay. I'd j-just cause trouble f-f-for everyone."

He took her words into consideration, even if he was just replying a second after, the woman did make a strong argument. "Hinata… you were placed in this company for a three month testing period to see if you would fully be hired with a contract." Hinata nodded her head, she had assumed as much, "That won't seem to be necessary anymore. You have proven to me in one day what you could have taken you three months. You're the one that I need by my side."

Her heart literally skipped a beat at the last statement, she held her breath and closed her eyes as she pushed back a strand of hair away from her shoulder.

"Uh… Sasuke…" Naruto was at the doorway barely standing, and barely holding in his laughter. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to interrupt." He placed a hand over his lips, finding the situation to comedic, and waited in the other room for Sasuke to leave. He wouldn't let his friend off the hook so easily.

"Hinata, just go home, take a rest and come back tomorrow early." The Hyuga nodded her head in agreement, grabbed her back, and almost bolted out the door.

"Hinata… thank you." And he genuinely meant it. Sticking his hands in his pocket he watched her run off, and then placed his attention at the laughing Uzumaki in the sofa who couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Ooh Sasuke, why don't you talk to me like that? Don't you know I need you by my side as well?" He continued laughing, and Sasuke shook his head sighing. "Sasuke, how are finger tips still in one piece, they haven't melted off have they?" And he went into another fit of laughter. Sasuke kicked his friend on the hip, a sign to knock it off.

"They haven't melted off you idiot."

"Oh I'm sorry, she practically turned into goo in your hands."

"Knock it off you. I just had to deal with Karin once and for all. That was just ridiculous." Naruto sat up, dusting himself and staring at his friend, hand on palm, elbow on knee. "I also heard that little girl saved you from the guillotine. I know, I had to call Shino for the favor, and we were barely finishing off the conversation when Sakura-chan called and interrupted us. It was quite a close call, even for us teme, you owe me one." They smirked at each other.

"I think you love that little secretary of yours somewhere deep deep inside your heart, and past her horrendous clothes." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Come on Sasuke, don't deny it. I don't think I've even heard you talk like that to Sakura or any of your previous girl friends." He reached and pretended to brush of Sasuke's nonexistent long hair over is shoulder, "I need you in my life…"

"I said by my side," and smacked away the blond's hand away. "Sometimes, I sincerely think that you and Sai really get along well, it's starting to rub off on you." Naruto just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at his friend, "You should hear the comments he makes about you." He flashed him an annoyed look.

"I'm just saying Sasuke. Just be careful about how you treat her. Girls like that, with a little statement, and some kind touches will be all over you thinking you'll marry them or something."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes and went to sit on his chair, feet on the desk. "Please, you make it seem like every girl is like Sakura, or maybe Ino." Naruto inwardly winced at the harsh comment. "Ouch Sasuke. Don't you think that was a bit of a harsh comment?"

"She seems to have a steady head on her shoulders. I doubt she thinks of me like that."

"Huh…" Naruto blinked and read a text message he received. "Well no matter what, you did a good job in defending her, right Sasuke?" Both men looked up to see Shikamaru's figure plopped against the side of the door, moving in and closing it behind him.

"I heard about everything that went on. I leave for a few hours and Sasuke's head is almost placed on exhibition by the company lobby, in front."

"Yo, Shika! How'd it go?" Naruto asked highly amused, "Here and there, assignment is about 99.9% done. Just a little review and it'll be set to go." Both nodded their heads. "Did you get in trouble for defending Nagumo-san, Sasuke?" Shikamaru took a seat next to Naruto, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling.

"There's going to be a flowery hell waiting for me when I go over to her apartment tonight."

Both parties on the couch looked at each other in slight amusement. "What, are you going to go over your marriage speech or something?"

"Even better Shikamaru, whether we are even going to get married." Naruto stared in awe and started to clap, while Shikamaru frowned. "If you want, I'll write down the points on how to make it quick if you do want to separate from her." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders at the Nara man.

* * *

Fugaku stayed silent hearing the exchange of words between the two woman in the back seat, and frustrated sobbing.

"You didn't play your cards properly, Sakura. And you had quite the cards too. You dug your own grave and pulled the trigger as well." She frowned and looked out the window of the car, green eyes brimmed with red because of the crying.

"All that you proved in that whole argument with Sasuke was that you were nothing more than spoiled rich teenage girl who gets what she wants in the body of a beautiful executive managing a company." Mikoto sighed, more than unamused at the situation.

"And seriously Sakura, her looks? Those insults? I understand that someone has to dress for the job, no doubt about it, but to use that as your only baises to begin your argument, that's just petty." Even Fugaku, who had been midning his own business while driving the car had to agree with his wife. The young girl didn't look barely decent, but if Sasuke had hired her, it had to be because she was a necessaity to the company. His son wasn't Itachi, but he wasn't an idiot either.

"You know very well that's not what I said in the argument-!"

"I know that's not what you said to Sasuke, but that was one of the first things you told me, Sakura. How ugly and what impressions she's giving to the company, there is a fine line and this Nagumo girl is walking it almost better than you are." Sakura turned her head so fast that she was sure she'd get whisplash.

"Do you sincerely have more anger than intelligence in you Sakura?"

"I came here for some opinions and help, not an insult."

"And you don't deserve any less." Sakura's mouth slightly gapped open at her words.

"You know what, I think Sasuke is right. Maybe you guys really aren't ready for this, this marriage that you so badly want. And you know what else I think, that you're the one that's not ready, not Sasuke in this case."

"Oh please, come on Mikoto. I've been waiting for four years to marry Sasuke. Four. I've been in love with him sense the moment we met when we were children. How can you say I'm not ready to marry him?"

"No, you're not. I can't speak on behalf of Sasuke, and I still need to listen to his side of the story and see where the truth lies in between both of your arguments." The pinkette scuffed and crossed her arms over her chest, more than furious at how the tides have changed. "He's literally cancled almost all social life he practically had and has dedicated it to you and the company. Just to prove it to you. And where do you stand Sakura. Have you sacrificed anything at all, have you tried to change for Sasuke? If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were jealous not only of Karin, but Nagumo as well." Sakura blinked the tears away and slowly looked back, letting her mind take in the information.

_"Me? Jealous? As if. Well… Nagumo is out of the picture, could he really have been saying the truth about Karin?"_

* * *

Hinata entered the household and sighed, throwing her bag on the table and pinching her hot red cheeks. She couldn't seem to forget the look on Sasuke face when he had moved her hair, and how everything about him just seemed to be amazing. Burring her face in her hands, she squealed and shook her head, happiness almost expanding all over her.

"What you doing Hina?"

Hinata almost jumped ten feet in the air, her little sister behind her savoring a peanut butter and jelly sandwish. "You're home early- oh my god, don't tell me they fired you?" Her tone filled with worry as Hinata tried to calm down her heart rate.

"N-no… it's just that we didn't have the computer installed so he told me to go home until tomorrow." She younger sister a weary smile, who only blinked and didn't seem to be buying it at all."

"Aha… so my room?" Hinata pouted and sighed. "Hai, I'll be up in a bit." Hanabi grinned and went of before her as Hinata went to the kitchen and prepaired herself the same thing, to be by Hanabi's side. Sitting at the edge of the bed Hanabi began, "Well spill it, what happened?"

"Oh Hanabi…" She sighed and took a large bite of the gooey sandwich. "Its been horrible, terrafing, exciting, and almost magical." Her sister just looked at her in surprise, not quite getting where Hinata was going on. "What type of paper and phone calls are you answering Hinata, cause man, they seem to be full of surprises.

The older sister laughed and shook her head. "I was almost fired by Sakura today, but Sasuke-san defended me and put me back to my job. And I'm sure if it wouldn't have been for Ino everything would have been fine."

"Ino Yamanaka, right?" Hinata perked up at her sisters questions. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"She dated Chouji Akimichi." And shrugged, as if everyone knew about it. Hinata nodded slowly, it was true that she had mentioned that in the interview with Kakashi before they were both hired.

"Do you think she'll be fired eventually?" Hinata couldn't help but laugh. "I think there's a higher chance that Sasuke will quite being president than her getting fired, Hanabi."

"I mean, she is pretty though, body to rock. Is she really as dumb as they say?"

"Well… I really didn't know she existed until the other day. She's a bit… air headed, but dumb is going a bit far." Hanabi then realized she was talking to her sister and gave her a bored expression, not much she was going to get out of her.

"And what else happened, did you find someone cute?"

Hinata blushed, and Hanabi raised an eyebrow.

"Someone hot?"

Her blush intensified. Hanabi gasped.

"Oh my gosh, no way." She laid downa dn started to roll around on the bed in happiness. "Hina, are you serious? Are you? Tell me, how does he look like? How does he act, what's his height and social!"

"H-Hanabi! Please, stop acting as if I have a boyfriend. It's just a small crush, that's all. And they're okay, just womanizers at the end of the day."

"No… way… two guys as well!" She laughed and hugged her sister, almost making her drop the sandwich in the process. "Hanabi, come on." The blush only intensified. She sighed giving in, "One is the head of the company, Sasuke Uchiha, the other one is one of the vice presidents, Naruto Uzumaki." Hinata saw her little sister go through her stack of celebrities in her mind and gasped.

"Oh Hinata, nice pick. Naruto seems too loud for me, but Sasuke… very nice. I just didn't think you'd go for married guys is all." Hinata shook her head.

"I just said they were cute Hanabi, nothing else. Besides, one is engaged, the other wouldn't even glance twice my way." Her smile slowly dropped.

"Come on, don't say that Hinata, you're beautiful. Sure you my need to change your… clothes a bit," and glanced over at them once more, "but you can get any guy you want." Hinata at that moment felt like she had enough of the conversation and abruptly stood up. "I should go call Lee, I don't want him to think he's not in the loop. I've discarded the idea of me being with any of those types of men so long ago. Those types of guys, have woman lined up waiting for them, they could practically pick from a catalogue if they so chose. You should have seen the beautiful woman who came in today to make the huge deal."

Hanabi tried to pick her words carefully, "Prettier than Ino?" Hinata nodded her head. "Well, that doesn't matter, right? I mean, it's not like you're going to stay single for the rest of your life, right?" Hinata sighed and took a step away.

"Oh come on," Hanabi begged and sat straight up, "you know I'm only saying it cause I care- Hinata wait, come back." She sighed and stared at the half eaten sandwich. Sometimes she wished Hinata hadn't fallen so inlove with that man.

"Would things truly have been different?" And took a bite of the sandwich.

* * *

"-I'm being honest Sakura, this sucks. He's been stuck inside that retched room with Naruto and Shikamaru for over two hours! Every time I come inside he just glares at me with this look that says, 'I can't wait to fire you'. And it pisses me of. He can't fire me, he can't!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's antics and shook her head, more than ready to hang up the phone, "What if it's not only me that gets fired, what about you too?!"

"Ino, are mental? Are you hearing what you're saying? Nothing is going to happen to you, and especially nothing is going to happen to me, I'm his fiancé for Kami's sake."

"Oh, Are you sure? I don't even have a rich boyfriend or husband to take care of me. Hell, I don't even have a cute or handsome boyfriend who can exploit me."

"Ino, don't worry, you'll be fine. Just finish up and leave once Sasuke is fine. Just leave it to me." And with a grumble, Ino hung up and Sakura stared at her mother in law, a little too calmly for Mikoto's taste after spending the day with her. The mother of two Uchihas had to admit, if it wasn't for Sakura's attitude at times, she would have been the perfect woman, even the sunset was complimenting her eyes.

"Sorry about that, you know how Ino gets." Mikoto gave a small wave. "I know. Don't worry. But like I was saying, I believe you should marry tired man. One who is tired of dating multiple women, and that lifestyle and can only find perfect solace in one woman, the woman next to them."

Sakura couldn't help but give a small giggle at the older woman's words.

"And you seriously believe Sasuke is tired of that lifestyle?"

Mikoto stayed silent, "What do you think, Sakura?"

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed it, please review and tell me what you guys think.  
I was reading some of the reviews, and the most I can say is to please be patient, it's a bit of a slow story. Also main pairing will be SasuHina.

Maybe Hina x (other characters). It is early on in the story, so let's take it step by step.

Thank you once again.


	5. Chapter 5: Bombs Away

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and are healthy.  
I just wanted to say thank you very much for all the wonderful support and reviews I have been getting. You guys are amazing, I love the feedback I'm getting. It's helping me write the story even by a little bit.

I've also noticed there's quite the hate for Sakura and Ino, especially Sasuke, and well... it's not what I wanted to come off as, but there's a reason to their method when I get to their background stories. It doesn't justify their actions, but you'll at least take them into consideration and see where they're coming from and why their actions are such.

I've also been reading on the reviews that GaaHina is really popular, it didn't occur to me much, but luckily for you there will be some instances of it in some really close chapters coming up. And yes, the Akatsuki characters will come up eventually.

And remember guys, this is definitely a SasuHina story.

Please enjoy!  
The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Bombs Away**

Hinata took in a deep breath and sighed. She needed to calm down, she knew it wasn't Hanabi's fault. Hell, it wasn't even _his_ fault. It was no one's but her own. Closing her eyes, her forearms covered them so the light from the window wouldn't seep through. She needed to stop this, time had stopped for her, but not for him.

He was always so elegant, calm, and composed in her eyes. So generous and kind with feather soft touches. He always put her first, or atleast she thought. Maybe it was the circumstances?

'_Did you pity me? Is that it? Is that what we came to as a conclusion on that night-'_

Ding - Dong.

"Hm?" Lazily turning on her side, her glasses discarded, her eyesight focused to two messages on the screen. Her eyes scanned the first message:

Lee: Hey Hinata! I hope you had a youthful day at work! Tell me how the fires deep inside of you moved you to keep on going. I'm helping a friend train at the moment, I'll call you when I get out.

The bluette tried to suppress a giggle.

'_Friend? I wonder who they might be...'_ She thought gingerly to herself, that same smile on her face. She paused when she stared at the name of the next message.

"Hanabi told me you had a rough day at work. You have some explaining to do as well. I'll be over in 10 minutes...", she finished reading out loud, "... from Shino."

Sitting up, she rubbed her back and stared at her clothes, this was fine. It consisted of a long black skirt with dull green flats and a yellow mustard shirt. That's what she was. She was fine. It's not like they would be going to a fancy restaurant or anything. Her finger tips twirled on a soft strand of hair, maybe she should also just get back to her daily routine.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, after small chit chat and annoyed glances from her friend in the all too quiet Audi, she diverted her gaze from the large window and onto the pristine table. Now she really did feel out of place in such an amazing restaurant. The customer service was on point and the food was decadent. It was one of Chouji's, and because of Shino's statues he got a good seat away from all the people and they were practically barricaded in a large corner thanks to the large dividers with pictographs. Their formalities gone, each sat in front of the other crisscross, glasses down, onyx hues staring into one blue and the other white eye. Yet he looked amazing, hair slicked back in a mid pony tail, a tailored suit, and no strong perfume.

'_She forgot to put on her other contact, or did she just drop it? Never mind...'_

"Hinata..." His voice low, "please explain to me the events of today." He sighed, he honestly didn't know how Sakura hadn't caught up to everything or how he didn't let anything slip when he had spoken something to her over the phone. He stared at her face as she just glanced down at her plate where an innocent half eaten cinnamon roll lay, impaled by a fork. To his surprise, he had barely touched his winter melon cubes he always savored. Two more minutes of silence, and he sincerely thought he would have to drag an answer out of her for the first time in their entire friendship.

"I'm sorry Shino." Hetero chromatic eyes glanced up at his, he could only build up enough self constrain to sigh.

"I know it's not entirely your fault, Naruto had a trump card I didn't expect he'd pull out on me." His friend had a confused look on her face, "Are you saying Uzumaki-san black mailed you, Shino?" He stayed silent, pouring himself some green tea.

"Let's just say the crisis was diverted. But I will say one more thing, I do not wish to be associated with such things again." She instantly sat up straight, eyes filled with worry at his sharp tone. "I normally would not care about someone's private life, but what Sasuke Uchiha is doing, and what you are doing for him isn't right either, Hinata." She let her shoulder slump down ever so slightly, eyes narrowing. Suddenly there was a very bitter taste in her mouth, "I-I did what I had to. It was a sp-spur of the moment...", her eyes darted to his drink, a blush of embarrassment filling her cheeks, "you were the only person that came into m-my mind who had relations to the company Shino, I'm sorry."

There it was, the Hinata who he couldn't say no to. The Hinata that had been his childhood friend for years. The Hinata that was still getting the bad end of the stick, especially after he had seen Hiashi's condition a few hours ago. Shino would never dare say that Hinata's living conditions were horrendous, but they weren't up to par, especially in comparison as how they use to live. From a grandiose estate with acres of lush land, to a small broken down corner house with three bedrooms and two baths.

He remembered their childhood together well, it was a healthy and quiet one. Each seeking the other in their time of need, acceptance turning into the key of their friendship. Her room use to be painted in pastel colors and smelled of lavender, now it was a stark white with the minimal plain wood furnishings. The Aburame clan leader always knew Hinata's mom wanted to keep her away from the lime light, but to never reveal they had two daughters was a bit drastic, and how they managed to keep it a secret was a mystery to him as well. And why would they keep the first daughter a secret, normally it would be the second child not the first.

Hanabi had only grown and turned beautiful as time passed by, but Hiashi was the one that truly surprised him the most. The man that use to send shivers down young Shino's spine every time he asked permission to play with his daughter, the man whose presence was noted and acknowledge like a prideful lion everywhere he set foot upon, the man who cut ties with his family a few months before all hell broke lose, was nothing more than an ordinary person in a wheel chair. And even then, those eyes said everything. If Shino were a fisherman, he'd be dead in a matter of days in Hiashi's windless sea.

Shino remembered that day as a teenager when he got a frantic text from his friend, and all of a sudden he heard curse words from his parent's mouth. The hurt and betrayal was there. He was also surprised how they even let him keep being friend's her after that, but thankfully they were more analytical people than emotional ones.

He was beginning to see her little dilemma, and the money problem. As much of an asshole Sasuke was, he always kept his word of paying others well, and the better you did, the bigger the raise. But Shino knew better, the Hyuga and the Uchiha's were never meant to be underestimated. He poured themselves more tea, bringing himself back to reality.

"An-ano... Shino, how do you know Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san?"

"It's hard not to know them." He shrugged slightly, "Our parents would be invited to the same dinners as theirs, business as usual, like my family use to do the same thing with yours. You probably didn't meet them until now because of your family's dislike for the Uzumakis and Uchihas. Once I was appointed head of the company, a year and half later same thing happened to Sasuke and Naruto is still having some troubles of his won."

Hinata let the information sink in.

'_Naruto having trouble? Having trouble doing what? Acquiring the presidency? What did his parents manage, why were they so close to the Uchihas? Wait... wouldn't that mean that Nara-san would be in the same position_?'

All those questions stirred inside Hinata's mind as Shino stared in slight amusement watching her every facial expression, from the little he had told her he assumed she was going to have a studious night.

"Why didn't you apply to come work for me?" Her head snapped up so fast she could have sworn she saw a large grin in his face. "A-ah... I..." He stared, his presence filled with patience.

"I didn't think it would be f-fair."

He rose an eyebrow up in slight surprise.

"I.. I think I would have just been given a job with no way to test myself. I wouldn't have actually earned it." Her fingers intertwined with the other, getting to the point where she was almost playing thumb wars with herself. "You would have just accepted me, I don't think I c-could have accepted it. I needed to prove to m-myself all this hard work wasn't for a-anything." She felt guilty having kept such a thing from him.

'_Your degrees aren't just for show, Hinata. I don't just hire anyone into my company.'_

"I'm not mad Hinata. When Hanabi texted me saying you had a rough day at the Uchiha's company, I was able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Although... I know you need the money, Hinata."

Her face was filled with surprise, almost seeing the acceptance in his eyes that she had so forgotten was there from their childhood days.

"I can't... I already have a contract with Uchiha-san himself and the company to work full time as a permanent employee." He took a bite of one of the cubes, seeing her eyes smile as well. "No offense Hinata, but that is quite fast. Isn't there usually a testing period, how did you do it?"

She paused... head tilted to the side and then beamed at him with a smile, "Loyalty." Shino could almost hear his rolling with laughter in their graves, his parents patting his back and shaking their heads in dismay. He scoffed to what seemed like the first time in forever. That would be the day, and Uchiha who is taking the word of a secretary he hired the other day, over his own wife who he is constantly lying and cheating on her with multiple woman.

Those people just weren't right in his head.

"Hinata... if you ever need any help, I'll be here." And with another smile, the friends just enjoyed their favorite desert with each other's silence. He didn't ask her about why she didn't tell Sasuke or the vice presidents about who she knew, he already knew her answer. It would force her to bring back memories she didn't want, and even he had to respect that much. Yet, at this moment he was struggling with something he didn't know, something he couldn't understand himself.

"Hinata, a caterpillar becomes a pupa in a chrysalis. Then it emerges, comes out of its secret changing room as the beautiful imago. Do you know what an imago is, Hinata?"

She paused taken slightly back to his reference of insects, going back to their childhood once more, "An adult winged insect... right?" Her tone more curios than anything as she felt there was the most subtle drift in change of topic.

"But what what else?"

She shook her head.

"It's a term from the dead religion of psychoanalysis. An imago is an image of the parent buried in the unconscious from infancy and bound with infantile affect. The word comes from the was portrait busts of their ancestors the ancient Romans carried in funeral procession... It's the last stage of a transformation, when you become who you will be." She wanted to look at him in the eyes, and reply back, but she couldn't find the words to say what she was truly feeling. Shino was just too observant for his own good sometimes.

Not meaning to cause that much distress on her, he decided to lighten the topic, "And by the way, Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"You're missing a contact." She blushed and sighed, finally noticing what was that awkward feeling of strangeness she was getting.

* * *

"Nooooo, hear me out Shika, come on- wait... Shikwa thwat hwurtss", Naruto pulled away from his friend as he felt the side the of his face starting to bruise from the shove that way given to him. "Naruto, stop clinging to me." He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up almost instantly, his composure coming back.

"But make Sasuke-teme see that what I did to his computer was beautiful." Both men just sighed in unison and stared at Naruto's face with an un-amused look.

"Go on Naruto. Show it to me." The Uchiha sighed yet again, leaning back on the chair as he stared out the window, noticing how the winds were stronger, a storm coming in from the distance.

"Okay, the best part about all of this, is if you break up with Sakura, you just click on this little icon of a fox," a window popped up, "you enter your password that's case sensitive", which opened to another page, "that takes you here." Sasuke just stared with an a highly amused look, even Shikamaru was impressed by his friend's antics.

"A person woman's search from Sasuke's own catalog."

Naruto grinned and Shika's comment, he was practically dying to try it. "Look look, you just type in what you want in on one or more of the categories of: name, age, weight, height, hair color, eye color, skin tone, occupation and whether you're in the mood for an easy or hard one."

"What do you mean easy or hard?" Sasuke stared at the screen, it was quite tempting when Naruto put it that way.

"Naruto probably means if you want a girl that with a few words will be in bed with you, or one that'll take you a few dates if you're in the mood."

"Exactly Shika. I know Sasuke has good memory, but once you type in what you'd like, it'll give you the closest thing to it that's in the system. Or more than one if it has multiple matches." Shikamaru started to type in a few words and in a matter of seconds and an enter key popped up a picture of Gaara's sister, and another female he hadn't seen before. "Just exactly who is in this system, Naruto?" The blond's grin stretched from ear to ear mischievously. "Anyone who is famous pretty much. You name it, model, actress, singer, youtube famous, director, dancer, politicians, and all the females in any company we are affiliated with, and even the one we aren't here in Japan, D-"

_'Geez Naruto, and we were having a good month...'_

"Good to know, Naruto." The Nara head glared at the blond who just coughed into a closed fist, seeing a seething Sasuke tap his finger slowly and harshly against the chair's armrest.

Sasuke took this as his queue to leave swiftly away from the room, but not before a worried Naruto held him back. "Wait Sasuke...", his tone serious, look stern, "may the odds be ever in your favor." And did a silent prayer over the Uchiha's back, again Sasuke contained himself from rolling his eyes. He was going to see his fiance, not witness a pissing contest between his father and uncle Madara. Even Shikamaru was getting a good laugh from Naruto's antics.

"Hey Shikamaru..." Naruto leaned slightly on his friend who was standing patiently next to him as they watched Sasuke's retreating form disappear in the elevator. Seeing a dash of blonde from Ino's hair, he smirked.

"How's Temari in bed- OW! That hurt... She's really starting to _rub_ off on y-OOOW, Shika wait for me!"

* * *

He was tired, just genuinely exhausted. He hadn't been this tired since the day before he was elected president of the company. He eyed the dark apartment as the silhouette of a woman sitting on a chair faced him.

_'Let's hope she makes it fast_.'

"Sakura..."

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She purred out his name, then stood up, but didn't move. He could already tell from the distance she must have been wearing only the newest lingerie. Not that he minded in the least. "What are you wearing, Sakura?" He decided to play her little game of cat and mouse. Maybe he wasn't that tired.

They both took a few steps closer to each other, "Oh, you know, just a little something I had saved up", she watched him to back, almost seeming as if he didn't want to pay her any mind and on the inside she was seething, "it's the new-"

"I came here to speak with you, not fool around."

She was almost taken back by his comment, but she didn't budge. A manicured hand rested on the side of her hip, "Speak with me? Well, I know you didn't come here to hand a good time," her hand raised up to fix a bra strap, "or have some fun", she then pulled up one side of the panties she was wearing. "You came here because you wanted to talk." Her lips parted slowly, knowing in the darkness his eyes were trailing along every curve of her body. His silence only added to her little mental game. Taking his hand in hers, she slowly moved him from the living room to their bedroom, forcing him to seat.

"Is this going to be an interrogation?"

She smirked, "Well, if it's going to be about our marriage, why not? I'll at least be able to get a few things out of you."

Her hands grabbed onto his tie, slowly crawling up to loosen it. "Depending on your answer is whether I allow you to marry me or not." Sasuke smirked, he knew exactly what was going on on now and who Sakura had been with. His mother sure was tricky, maybe she wasn't as adamant about the marriage as she let on in front of him and father. He could play along, because it seemed like his parents also had plans of their own for the woman in front of him and himself.

"And what if I decide I don't want to marry you, Sakura?" His words were instantly silenced by a harsh kiss on the lips, which they quickly let their tongues do the rest of the talking for them.

"I'll kill you... How many times have you cheated on me, Sasuke? Think about it well, I know there's been a few." Sakura pulled away for a split second and let her hands move over to his hair, "I want an exact number, and names." A kiss on the cheek, this really was going to be a long night. "I want the truth Sasuke... and nothing but the truth."

"Sense this is costing me my life, I believe I should be honest. I've never cheated on you, or been with another woman while in our relationship," She wasn't buying it, a look of disbelief filled her features, "...Sakura." Every other woman in the world would have cried 'FOUL' on that statement. "And what about Karin?"

"What about Karin? She was nothing more than a simple model to _our _company name." Sakura kept her stare even.

"How am I doing?" She smirked and pushed on down on the bed. Her hands running up and down his chest, her fingers playing with the buttons. "You're starting to crack, I can see it. But luckily for you, I feel like giving you a chance or two."

"Is there anyone else more beautiful than I that you are interested in, Sasuke?"

"No..."

"No one that keeps you awake at night?"

"No..."

'_If she keeps this up I'm going to start having to quote Snow White_.' He closed his eyes tiredly, he needed to find a way to get rid of Sakura in the long run, or at least until he managed to figure out what was going on between his parents and hers. Also, where exactly he stood in this company's statues.

Her lips locked with his, after a few moments of a rhythmic and slow pace and Sakura's need for air, she kissed his lips once more. That same smirk ever present. "Has anyone kissed you as good as I, Sasuke?"

"Hm..." He pretended to think for a moment, almost sure that the woman straddling him was going to have a heart attack at his acting skills, "just Sakura Haruno."

"What do you feel for me, Sasuke?"

"Great respect and appreciation..." Which was the most truth he's said all night. He really did cherish Sakura, her company and her as a human being. But sometimes she was a jealous person he didn't want to deal with. Not to mention how she acted around him, and the different attitude she had around everyone else, she was practically a different person. The woman in front of him truly had changed from the one he knew as a child, except sometimes he wondered if it was for the best, "... as well as love."

Her hands snaked over towards his neck, gripping it lightly, "Does that mean that our marriage is still going to go?"

She received a nod from him, his hands finally joining in on the game as they ran up and down her sides, starting to slow down whenever they ran over the soft semi transparent fabric of her panties.

"And the last question that will save you from your impending doom..." Now he was really feeling his frustration beginning to rise, but decided to finish it once and for all. "I thought I was already saved after I agreed to marry you." She shook her head, "There's one more question, the most important and delicate one out of all of them..." He waited patiently, locking eyes with the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Will you forgive me for all the stupidities and silly actions I committed in your office? Would you believe me if I told you that those things will never happen again, that I won't interfere with your personal, private, or public life?"

She kissed his lips quickly and lightly.

"I don't want to lose you, Sasuke. I don't. I also don't want you to think that loving me means that it'll be a burden on you. I want to believe wholeheartedly and blindly in you. I believe in everything you told me tonight. I don't want to know about anything anymore that involves the woman you're with, or what you're doing... or even your personal agenda." He saw her strain to say the last part. "I also don't want to hear about your secretary either."

After a moment Sasuke just sighed and gave a low chuckle, to which Sakura blushed in embarrassment. That was the final hint that he needed to know that his parents were cooking something up. There was no way Sakura meant everything she said, but it was well played on her part.

"Silly Sakura... I forgive you. I want to be by your side." And now he hoped she didn't hear the strain on his voice.

At that moment he could have sworn the woman had morphed into something recognizably beautiful and pristine, the meaning of his words lifting all the weight she had on her shoulder off. Her fingers slipped from his neck as her head found its way to the crook of his neck for warmth, just wanting to be with him. She didn't need to have sex with him, or to make love, she just wanted to feel whole by his side, to be needed by him.

And for now, with his arms wrapped around her they stayed comfortably engulfed in their own silence. One could say, Sakura didn't even care if she woke up alone the next morning, just as long as she knew he would always be hers. That's exactly what had happened, Sasuke gone the next morning, her same lingerie on, and makeup and hair a mess. But that was okay for her. Wrapping her arms around her, she slipped back into the comfort of the white sheets and closed her eyes for a few long moments.

'_Yes, I was just acting stupid_,' a small smile crept itself on her face, '_I wonder... have you told Itachi, Sasuke? Have you told him anything?_' Sakura opened her eyes, moving her head to gaze out to the window where the light was struggling to enter the bedroom.

"Sasuke... If I was the light, and you were this room, would you finally open your blinds so I could enter?"

Back at the company, Hinata was in her room when she heard the voices of three men coming in and just paused her work for a moment, even though she didn't want to listen in on their conversation it was quite tempting.

"-as I was saying, Sasuke how did last night go? At least you're alive and in healthy conditions." Naruto stuffed his hands in his pocket as Shikamaru took out a cigarette and lit it in a quick motion. "Well, did you manage to save yourself from that marriage?"

Shikamaru closed the door behind him and sat next to Naruto, both facing the Uchiha at his desk.

"No. I'm going to marry, Sakura."

Hinata for some reason frowned, but couldn't help but wonder why. Shikamaru on the other hand smirked and outstretched his hand, palm open and Naruto slapped a crisp one hundred dollar bill onto it.

"Are you serious? Come on Sasuke... What did she do? Put a gun to your head? Or worse, threaten to take away your presidency?"

"My parents are planning something with her, I need to know what they are planning. She apologized saying she wouldn't get in my personal life anymore, probably because she talked to my mom. Imagine how big it was, that we didn't even have sex." Sasuke opened his laptop and signed in, glancing over the large number of emails he had received over the night. Shikamaru kept his hand open as the blond slapped another one hundred dollar bill again to the Nara hand.

"What do you think your parents have in mind?"

Sasuke's eyes flickered to meet Shikamaru's gaze for a moment before going back to the screen. "Something probably having to do with that weasel."

Hinata looked back at the new computer on her desk and shook her head, '_Where have I heard that before?_'

"What do you mean you didn't have sex, what type of apology is that? Wouldn't the sex have been what would have tied everything with a bow on top?"

Shikamaru spoke in turn for Sasuke, "Sakura wanted to know where Sasuke's feeling lay at. Whether sex was the only good thing they had. Who knows, maybe she might be ready to change." Sasuke doubted that, for he had bigger things to worry about. "I don't know you guys, not having sex just seems weird. Well whatever..." he crossed his arms over his chest, "the real question is, do you love her Sasuke?"

The Uchiha stayed silent and kept on clicking away.

"See! Oh Kami, Sasuke... I can't ever understand what you're thinking." Shikamaru just took another drag of his cigarette and looked at the both of them, completely seeing both their points of views. But in Sasuke's case he needed a safety, which was Sakura in this case. He couldn't just let her slip from his grasp that easily, even if she was the one holding onto dear life for the Uchiha.

"Look, all I'm trying to say is, are you sure you want to marry Sakura, Sasuke?"

"Yes Naruto. I want to marry Sakura." Both men just looked at the other and sighed, feeling as if it was there time to stand up and get to their respective works. Leaving and closing the doors behind them Sasuke sighed and cracked his neck to the side. He needed to find out what was going on in his parents' mind, especially after the email his parents had sent him this morning.

"An-ano... Uchiha-san?" He snapped his eyes open and stared at the secretary in front of him wondering how he didn't hear her come in, "Hm?"

"You had received a c-call from a certain Kagome w-while Nara-san and Uzumaki-san where here and I didn't want to interrupt...", his eyebrows rose up slightly, "and I told her t-that you'd get back to her later on t-today after your scheduled meetings because you were busy at another company."

"I see. Nagumo-san, tomorrow we are having my first official conference with my parents and Sakura's family to give me the official title as president over this company. I need a detailed summary of how the company is doing now, how it will be in three months, six months, and after a year. Also call everyone and remind them of the meeting we have in two hours."

She nodded her head and almost disappeared behind the door before his voice called out to her, "Nagumo-san..."

Hinata turned around and almost had a heart attack when she was face to chest with him. Taking a quick step back and hitting her head with the half opened door, Sasuke couldn't help but be amused by her actions. "How did you know that I didn't want to speak with her?" Her eyes widened, not expecting that type of question. She bit her lip for a moment and shoved her glasses back up, thankful that her bangs had grown long enough to cover the top edge of her round glasses.

"I-I ... well... I don't know, sir. I suppose it's because she asked for you by first name..." she fidgeted a little, she could feel her cheeks starting to turn red. "Sh-she also wasn't as aggressive as the other, Karin." He kept eyeing her, feeling as if there was something extremely familiar about her, this close up.

"Good work, Hinata." She slowly tilted her head to look up at his larger frame, "Now just because Karin did such an act, doesn't mean the other woman will. Kagome is still in Sakura's black list, so it's better she doesn't show up. If she calls again, don't tell her no, just keep up the act and say I'll talk to her later." Hinata gulped, wondering why her eyes were darting all over his facial features, why he seemed so lovely, why it was she was doing what she was doing at the moment. Soft lips parted for a moment, and then quickly closed reevaluating their words.

"Uchiha-san, actually I was wondering if it was okay with you if I transferred all of the information from the agenda into my personal computer. It'll be encrypted and I'll be the only one who can have access to it, this way we can avoid another scandal." He eyed the woman, looking at her in suspicion. Shikamaru had said the same thing once upon a time ago as well, yet here they were. Anything the Nara man had said always made perfect sense, but something was so off about him that day when they had spoken, he didn't even bother taking it into consideration.

"It was a close call, Uchiha-san. Please?" Should he tease her? Maybe reward her hard work, "This way you can tell me which are the people you want to avoid and which are the ones you want me to pass over on the line. It'll make everything easier to manage for both of us. "

'_She's so nervous, she's shaking._..'

"Good work, Hinata." And slowly moved a strand of hair away from her shoulder behind her, and turned around to go back to work, as did Hinata closing the door behind her, hand to chest feeling like her heart was going to explode.

At that moment Hinata came to the realization Sasuke Uchiha was a very handsome man up close and personal.

* * *

Hinata stood by the door greeting everyone person by person that walked in with a soft and cheerful voice, "Good morning..."

"Good morning everyone," Sakura was the last one to enter and smiled to the rest of the people in the large rectangular table and then gave a quick glance over at Hinata with a small smile and wave, "Good morning to you too, Hinata."

The Hyuga just nodded shyly, but new better and took her greeting with a grain of salt. Sakura, strangely, was wearing an all black long sleeve turtle neck sweater that attracted the eyes of some of the gentlemen, but never any comments. To finish off her look, she had a necklace dangling from her neck with a small green gem at the end. Quietly sitting next to Sasuke's left, she crossed one leg over the other.

For a moment Hinata took in everyone's sitting arrangement clockwise, Sakura next to Sasuke, followed by Naruto then Shikamaru, then turning at the end of the table was Kakashi with three empty seats between him and Sakura.

"Hello honey," she leaned over and gave him one of the most passionate kisses anyone in that room had ever seen causing Kakashi to giggle and wiggle his eyebrows at Sasuke. Naruto and Shikamaru just shrugged it off and looked over the envelopes in front of them. It was better to distract their mind with something than look at that, "What's with that look, Kakashi?"

He shrugged his shoulder, "Oh nothing, Sakura..."

"I mean, we are in love and getting married soon." Her smile brightened as she knew where Kakashi's perverted mind was going at. He on the other hand tried to stifle another giggle with his finger tips, as he truly was hopeless.

"Hey! How come no one told me about this meeting?" The blonde's voice pipped in as she stood in the door way with a purple pencil skirt too short and a white, buttoned up long sleeved blouse.

"Oh I'm sorry Ino, were we suppose to remind you?" Sakura tried not to say anything to Sasuke's words, and gave Ino an apologetic look, forgetting to tell Sasuke she was going to be coming in late this morning. She scuffed and placed a hand on her hip, "So, can I stay, do you need me?"

"Of course, the least you can do is answer the phones if they ring." Ino at that moment appreciated the little self control she had to not go and give Sasuke a face, especially for always being so mean to her.

"I'll go get everyone so-some paper..." Hinata stated and on the way out almost bumped into Sai, but managed to side step at the last moment, apologizing under her breath which caught the designer off guard. Shikamaru stared blankly at the small incident that had occurred, his mind trying to figure something out. Letting his eyes roam over the table, he noticed Kakashi had witnessed the scene as well and was highly intrigued.

'_Something just isn't right...' _Both men thought in unison, but never spoke a word about it.

Once she was out of ear shot Sai sat down next to Ino, "Oh Sasuke, you're secretary is a femme fatale, more fatale than anything." And earned himself a few laughs from Ino and Sakura, even Kakashi tried to stifle a laugh. On the other note Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were highly un-amused. Whether it was because he was making fun of Hinata, or they were tired of Sai's antic, one couldn't tell.

"Oh Sai, please be careful with what you say, you might get yourself demoted if you keep that up. You know how protective Sasuke is about his workers." And brushed it of with a laugh. "Which remind me Sai, where exactly is Haku... I thought his first day yesterday after they dropped something of his off in the airport?"

"He had other work to do. Haku was suppose to come with me today to the meeting, but I know he would do better knowing his surroundings first." Sakura tilted her head, contemplating his words, it did make sense when he put it like that. And after that moment, Hianta came back into view with a small stack of papers, going around giving each person one.

"Come on guys, let's get serious..." Shikamaru started and extinguished the flame on his cigarette, "tomorrow is the big day and we've got to finish everything."

* * *

"Ugh... I'm so tired."

Tenten muttered under her breath as she rubbed her lower back in a circular manner. The pink haired woman next to her smirked, "So, who you fucking Tenten?" At the, the brunette turned a dark shade of red and shook her head dramatically from side to side in disagreement. "N-no... no one Tayuya! I just have a sparing partner and they really don't go easy me is all." The woman just just nodded her head, pretending to believe her friend's story. "Sure, that's what they all say-"

"Someone please get this guy off my back..." came in a tired looking Kin, khaki pencil skirt, and a simple white blouse. Looking behind her they saw a handsome man and both woman looked at each other in confusion.

"Haku?" They stated in unison as they finally came up to them.

"What are you doing here, aren't you suppose to be in practice for the next modeling shoot we have?" He gave Tenten a small smile, "well, I don't work as a model for the company anymore", Tayuya's and Tenten's mouth hung slightly open in awe, "I work as Sai's secretary on the condition that if we ever need a replacement model, I had to come in. Otherwise they wouldn't have let me stayed."

Kin just stared at the scene with an annoyed look. "Yea yeah, well pretty boy here was tired of being a model because of his androgynous features." Tenten eyed the crush of the company for a moment longer and came to a simple conclusion, suits did look good on him.

"Oh, sorry about that Tayuya, as I was saying, then Sakura came in and started to scream like the world was going it to end. It really annoyed me, not because of her screaming, but because she threatened to fire me." Tayuya and Kin just frowned, as Haku kept his ever calm expression, studying the situation at what exactly he had missed in a day.

"Hey, am I the only person that gets an impression that Hinata would belong with the Hyugas?" He said it in such an innocent way that the woman surrounding him didn't know whether or not he was being serious. Kin just shook her head as Tenten and Tayuya laughed as his assumptions, "Not to make fun of Hinata or anything, but I don't see someone as nice as her being a Hyuga. Not to mention they only have one daughter."

Kin pipped in, "Yeah, but wasn't there also a male heir, Neji or something like that from an uncle?" Everyone thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah... I think you're right, Kin." Tenten pretended to stroke a nonexistent goatee, "What did happen to that company- oh, hey Kiba." The dog lover walked over towards the group and gave Haku a hand shake, "Just passed by after hearing something about Nagumo-san. Oh, secretary already? Gotta' tell us all the scoop there is on Sai." Haku just lightheartedly laughed at his comment.

"Oh, you knew, Kiba?"

"Hell yeah, I know everything that goes on here."

"Well I heard you got a crush on her." Kiba just gave the pretty boy a glare and gave him a shaky fist, "h-hey, who the hell said I had a crush on Nagumo-san! that girl with no fashion sense."

"Haku never said it was Nagumo-san. That's what you get for the little prank you did on her yesterday." Everyone joined in on the red faced Inuzuka's blunder.

"Oh? What did you do Kiba? Take her on a date?"

"Worse, he pretended he had a higher statues than Sasuke, and started ordering her around like he was the boss of the company. She actually believed it too..." Tenten could barely finish her sentence because of the laughter. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say karma. That's how rumors start, Kiba", Tayuya added, "next thing you know you guys are dating or something."

"Hey come on, let's not do that to poor Hinata. She really is nice." Tenten stated, a wave of guilt almost flooding her, while Kiba had a look of shock in his face, wondering why he was the one that would bring bad luck to her.

"Are you attached to her already?" Kin stated, giving her a half smile.

"Well when she came over this morning to pick up the mail for the president, I told her how yesterday I practically threw her under the boss when Sakura called and instead of yelling or anything, she just smiled and said not to worry about it. Then she picked up the mail and went on her way to the office."

Everyone just listened in carefully at Tenten' story, some even feeling slightly guilty.

"Not gonna' lie, I seriously thought she wasn't going to show up today after yesterday's incident." Kiba nodded with Kin's statement, "yeah, I also thought that they would break up their marriage. Speaking of which, I saw her today and she looked so happy it was scary." Kiba pretended to shiver, "that woman seriously scares me."

"Huh, no wonder she said she was just happy to keep her job. I wonder what must be going on in her life."

Haku's eyes narrowed slightly, getting the feeling he was sure to have seen that woman somewhere before.

* * *

"Shots fired from the Penthouse suite of the top floor..." The scene changed to Pip wearing nothing but his boxers staring at the television set where the reporter had a nervous look on his face.

"What?" He looked at it in slight confusion.

"The initial S.W.A.T. team has not reported back leading officials to fear the worst. The terrorist duo inside is comprised of a young British woman, and some Ozzy Osbourne looking motherfucker." Which the scene then switches over to Integra looking at the tv in horror, Walter still unfazed by anything.

"On the phone. Get him on the phone! I want him on the phone right now!-"

"Hanabi! Please stop watching such garbage." Hiashi rolled in and stared at his daughter too absorbed on some weird cartoon about vampires and what not. The girl grumbled and turned over on the sofa, rolling over and pausing the screen on the tv. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say, father." He sighed and just stayed in the same spot, eyeing his daughter carefully. The joke was on him, she had been a devoted fan, and every year she was one of the first to watch it as it was one of hers and Konohamaru's favorite. Now watching it again for her was more for memorization so she had good comebacks whenever she argued with someone.

Switching the settings on the television set, the regular cable channels came up and the first thing that appeared was a commercial of a redhead and a blond going to have a debate about art. Not interested even if the faces were familiar, she switched the channel and the next channel had the same thing, much to her dislike.

"Ughhh, it's happening again, there's nothing good on."

Giving the tv one more chance, she typed in a random number and pressed OK. For a moment, she thought the fates were pulling everything together against Hinata's favor. Her father frowned as he also witnessed the people that came in on the screen.

"Hey everyone, un. Thank you for having us all here!" Stated the blond that entered the set, and then strolled in four more men, and a gorgeous woman with blue hair and make up so on point she wondered if she could ever do something like that in her life time. Their names rolled up on the screen as Hanabi read them out loud, "Deidara, Sasori, Pein, Kakazu, Hidan, and Konan. So those are their names..." The youngest Hyuga was practically at her seat, eyes widening at the last man who came in at the last second. The crowd became wild, woman were screaming at the top of their lungs, even the female host had a blush on her cheeks.

"Itachi Uchiha..."

"And here they are everyone. The one, the only, A/D Fashion Company!" On a small little corner it read, '_Akatsuki/DAWN. Probably made for western fans to understand. They really aren't holding back._' The fans were going wild, woman and the few men in there. It was as if the owners of the company came for anyone's preference in a person. Old or young, any type of hair, and any personality. Sometimes Hanabi wondered how they all managed to stay together so well as a team. They all looked impeccable, the whole team on point and wearing black. Their clothes were made so amazingly that they were even voted as one of the top fashion labels of the century next to Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, and the Uchiha's company.

"We don't plan on losing to fucking anyone," Hidan started to speak, hair slicked back with a smirk on his face, "even if it's to Itachi's little brother." At that Itachi just stared blankly at the camera, a look of amusement then changed over at Hidan's words.

"Oh no..." Muttered Hanabi, feeling a vibration, she looked at her phone seeing a text message from both Shino and Konohomaru.

'_Are you watching the show_?' Was what Konohamaru's text said and eyed her father from the corner of her eyes trying to gauge a reaction, she was almost frozen solid when she saw the cold expression on his face, not seeing something like that since the time of the company going down. Her eyes quickly went back down to examine Shino's message.

'Neji was spotted in China', and Hanabi almost dropped her phone.

* * *

As you guys know, I really love to throw in characters from other anime's and such, but I quickly realized while writing the scene with Shino and Hinata in the restaurant, I didn't know how to write him probably. I'll definitely practice on that.

Also, it's a subtle insert, but there was a Hannibal quote in that scene as well. And I also decided last minute to add the scene with Hanabi, I thought it would stir things up. I also thought we needed some more comedy and drama.

Thank you for reading, and keeping up with this fanfic. Please review if you can. You guys are the best fans.

The Count, Kennedy.


	6. Chapter 6: One Hyuga Too Many

Hello everyone, how are you all doing? Well, hopefully good. I've come to the conclusion that I will make this fanfiction between 75 - 100 something chapters long. I like being dramatic lol. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, I'm actually quite proud of it.

So prepare yourself, this chapter is going to be a bumpy one.  
And thank you all for the reviews, I do read them all, and some of you are quite close to the truth!

The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**One Hyuga is Too Much**

"$100..." A stack of bills were placed on the table, "$200..." another stack, "$300, $400, and that ends us with a total of $500,000", and the last stack of bills were placed and everyone around the table silently stared in awe. If it wasn't because they were all already rich to a large degree, the men in there would have gone on a spending spree in a hearts notice.

"Whoa... did they seriously pay us in cash, un?" Deidara picked one up, his thumb trailing over the edges of the papers, an eye darting over to the other three men in the group.

Kakuzu was standing up next to the pile of cash, impeccable as the rest of the men. A black suit covering his tan and well built body, at least for someone his age. Behind him was Hidan, early twenties with his silver hair slicked back, brown eyes staring off into space. And finally was the red head Sasori, also in a classic black suit that hid a slender and strong body. His hazel brown eyes gave a slight grayish tone to them when the light reflected off of it.

"They wanted to."

Kakuzu then sat down, one leg over the other and sighed. He truly loved cash as it always led to easy business transactions, but after appearing on that show, it was just weird how they decided to pay them. It's not even as if they were there for more than five minutes. Not to mention the division of the money was set to the only the four of them in the room. The beautiful Konan and Pein, not having said anything decided against getting a cut of it, Kisami and Zetsu being gone didn't even bother justifying why they needed one. Even Itachi had stepped down, but for some unknown reasons to him.

Sasori tilted his head back, sitting next to Kakuzu. "Hm, what's the catch?"

Hidan cracked his knuckles and scuffed, "Who cares, they fucking paid us and that's all that matters." He proceeded to pour himself a cold drink, leaving the liquor open so if any of the guys wanted some, could take from it. Deidara absent mindlessly nodded his head, not being one to agree with the foul mouthed man.

Deidara switched over to play with the tip of his long bangs, "Hey, why isn't the stupid Uchiha here? Doesn't he get a cut of this, hn?"

Kakuzu stayed silent, surveying the situation before Hidan took the floor, "Heard he went to visit some grave," shrugged and took a long sip of the liquor, "don't know whose though. Hell, didn't think that guy would've been so attached to anyone." Kakuzu rubbed one temple slowly as he locked eyes with his red haired companion in a knowing glance.

* * *

"This is ridiculous..." Neji stared at the slice of pumpkin pie laying over a sterile white paper plate in horror, this couldn't be happening to him. It just couldn't. He looked up at the ceiling of the airplane in exasperation, then turned his head back to look for the stewardess, and she was no where to be seen.

Just him... and the pumpkin pie. Oh, and a three hour flight. Gulping, he pushed the sunglasses he was still wearing up, and stabbed the tip of the slice.

'_How are you... Hinata-sama... are you well_?'

For a second, guilt flooded him and he felt that the best thing was for the airplane to crash into one of the mountains in China and for everyone to survive but him. His teeth clenched, eyebrows together and then he took in a deep breath. He wished he hadn't done what he did, regretting every single moment of that one sided argument. The ex-Hyuga head literally belittled her, and just left her without a reason. To top it off he never told her where he was going or for how long.

_'Can you forgive me... Hinata-sama_?"

[Flashback]

"Ne-Ne-Neji... I-I can't... it...", she took a sharp intake of air, "it hurts... it hurts so mu-much. W-Why would he do th-that to m-me..."

Livid... that's what he was. Absolutely livid at the words that were coming out of Hinata's stuttering lips. His Hinata. His precious cousin. The one he would practically give his life for at a moments notice, except now. Clouded grey hues stared at lilac ones filled to the brim with tears, the edges of her eyes red, her face tear stained. She was a large mess kneeling on the floor, just continuing to sob without a stop. Her hands were hugging her lower tummy tightly, if she kept that up her forehead would be touching the floor soon.

"Hinata..." His voice came out colder than he intended it to, his eyes locked with hers and he could see the hurt in them. Not only from the bastard's actions but also from his own tone, her body almost flinched back in surprise. Her face was now tilted up, filled with all that hope that he wouldn't grant.

"STOP CRYING, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

The words came out from deep inside him, buried in a place he didn't know was there. Right as they were rolling of the tip of his tongue, he noticed it a moment too late. Eyes shut, he quickly turning around, he couldn't face her, or the face she would be giving him.

Silence engulfed them both, Hinata only tightening her grip, lips parted wanting to speak. To beg for forgiveness. One hand dug into the arm that was bandaged.

'_Say something... anything! Damn it, Hinata_!' Neji thought in aggravation as he finally opened his eyes and stared at the wooden door leading to the outside world. He was the one that felt betrayed.

A step forward.

A low gasp resonated from his cousin, he could already imagine the look of hurt on her face.

A step away from _her_.

"Ne-Neji..."

He could get away from _her. _

"Please..."

Almost there.

"Don't leave me like he did..."

His finger tips twitched as the held the knob in place. Neji sighed, this wasn't rational of him, he wasn't doing what would be best for them. But he couldn't stand it. '_That bastard...', _and the anger quickly came back. He swiftly opened the door and shut it behind him at the same speed, leaving a shocked, and utterly depressed Hinata in his living room.

[End of Flashback]

And all of a sudden, the pumpkin slice started to taste better than he expected.

* * *

"What is it Hanabi?" Her eyes widened at her father's remark, his eyes never leaving the television screen. "K-Konohamaru just said an insensitive joke." Hiashi just stared at his youngest daughter, but quickly diverted his eyes back to image.

"Father..." By now she was sitting up straight, slightly worried at what was going on through his mind. Her eyes traveled down to his legs, one of his firm hands on his right knee gripping it a little too tightly.

'_This isn't good_', to anyone else, it was a simple and common action, but Hanabi knew better. '_What should I do? Should I tell him? What if he doesn't want to hear it? What if he doesn't want to see Neji_?'

* * *

Sasuke starts off in a low voice to everyone, "tomorrow will be the big council meeting where I will be officially given the part of presidency of this company. My father, and other investors", he gave a short frown and continued, "they want us to prepare a form to date, a document outlining the state of the company. " Sasuke turned his head slightly giving Kakashi a knowing look, "I need a detail statement about all of our personnel. Full and part time employees, how much people make, exchanges etc", he shifted his eyes over to the blond, "Naruto and Shikamaru I want from you two, a form in relating to the sales, stocks, and what's going on in our current stores, and the changes there will be in the future. You know exactly what you need to do." Then he turned fully to stare as Sai who had that same stupid smile plastered on his face, "Sai, tell us what is occurring in your current collection, also what is going to happen to the new collection coming up after that one."

And then he finally looked over at Sakura, that same smile on her face as well.

"Sakura, I need a form stating was is going on in the stores figures. See if we're selling, and everything that's occurring." The pinkette just nodded her head and told him, "its already done love, it just needs to be printed by Kin or Tayuya and given to you."

"Perfect. Well then, everyone that is all for now. Send me that information by this evening, if I'm not here, just give it to Nagumo-san." Hinata glanced down for a split second, finally sitting down in the last empty chair as he was giving her a peculiar look. "Organize all the information once you receive it. I would need a general balance of last year's figures. Here is the form that won me that presidency." Silence filled the table for a moment before Naruto pipped in, "Now that we are now complete, why don't we all go for lunch-"

"Uh... No..."

Ino stood up with the rest of the people who were giving her a slight curios look, and then directed their eyes towards Sasuke. "Well, what about me, what's my job?" Sasuke smirked, "I don't know, Ino. Call a restaurant, get a menu for lunch tomorrow at the council meeting, you are in charge of that. Wine and everything, the attention that you wanted is now all yours." Ino was practically livid, at being given such a menial job. A tug on the sleeve of his suit, and a knowing look from his wife, he didn't really to stated anything else. Mentally sighing, he began poking at her while everyone was gone, "so tell me, what is wrong now, Ino? Aren't you the queen of public relations, at least by image? Do your job well, Ino. Do it once and for all." Sakura sighed and mentally slapped her forehead, "that's not what i asked you to do, Sasuke." He glanced down at his fiance and gave her the most blank stare he could muster. She only shook her head and walked away from him as he stared down at the envelopes at the desk.

Downstairs by the reception area, the other secretaries, and now Haku, were waiting in front of a bored looking brunette, "Oi, Tenten, are you sure you can't go with us?" Kin finished saying and placed an elbow on the glass, chin on the palm of her hand. "No really, it's okay guys. You can go on ahead of me. Kiba hasn't arrived with the money Uchiha-san asked to withdraw from the bank, so I have to wait until he gets back. I'll be there soon, don't worry." She flashed them a smile, to only be greeted back with the same kindness and a few silent nods. Tenten knew it was something that they had to tell her, even if they weren't the gossipy type of people. From the corner of her eye she spotted the new secretary and waved frantically over to her, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hey, Hinata!" The other girl just jumped and slowly turned around, not having heard her name called out like that in that tone sense well, Lee. "Ah, hello, Tenten-san." Waving her hand in a more delicate manner now, Hinata walked over to her and smiled, "Hi Hinata, how's work going for you?"

"It is going well, thank you." Her eyes glanced down at the floor, trying to find the courage to ask her a few words, "Ano, Tenten-san..."

"Tenten is just fine, or Tenten-chan if it's really hard for you." She sat there patiently, waiting for her new friend to continue, "Y-yes.. well, Tenten, do you know anywhere I can go to eat? I would normally bring my own bento, b-but... I seemed to have left it at home, and..."

Tenten just grinned knowing where she was going, "well you see, there's this one restaurant for the Uchiha's and the Sabaku's, really expensive and high end. I believe it was the last restaurant the old Akimichi head put up before handing it over to his child." She stared off in thought for a moment before continuing. "There's this other one for the executives. Kind of for people who are almost there, but not quite. And then, for people like you and I, there's Ichiraku's Ramen, it is a nice place, and not expensive." Hinata just smiled through everything she said, seeing how there was quite the variety of places for people to eat, "Well, how about for people like us." Tenten nodded her head in satisfaction, "Good choice, besides Uzumaki-san, it's usually us who go there. No one really bothers us and it's cheap. They're really kind people too, if you don't have money, they will let you eat and you pay when you have money." Tenten tore one sticky note from the rest and wrote down the address that was across the street from the girl in case she got lost. "Us?" Hinata asked curiously. "Usually the three of us go there, Kin and Tayuya, but Haku decided to join us today."

With one last smile, Hinata took the piece of paper in her hands and walked away, unsure if she should let Tenten wait alone until Kiba came back. Not because she felt bad for her knew friend, but mostly because she'd be scared something would happen to Kiba.

After the quiet lunch, Hinata just went back into the comfort of her own room and silently stared at the computer screen. Feeling her phone vibrate, she clumsily answered the call, "Hello?" Her eyes softened as she sighed, calming down at her younger sister's words as she spoke about her boyfriend doing a crazy and almost seemingly stupid thing. The door swung open and in came Tayuya with two folder, one from Sakura, the other from Shikamaru. Giving a curt nod she accepted them and placed them on the desk, "Thank you. And Hanabi, be nice. I've told you how boy's can be at their age." Hinata stated after the pink haired woman had left and later came in Haku followed by Kakashi, who always seemed to have a smile hidden behind his mask when he saw her.

"Y-yes Hanabi, I'm listening. And I'm sorry but I can't go home early today..." Her tone of voice soft, and slightly urgent, Hinata never being one to like to disappoint her younger sister.

Ino just entered the office and noticed not an Uchiha in sight, "Huh... weird. You'd think he'd be back from lunch break by now." Her eyes trailed over to the open door and rose an eyebrow, slowly listening in to the conversation the other secretary was having.

"- the reason for that is because I'll be going home late to finish the form. I k-kinda want to surprise, Sasuke-san." Ino's eyes slightly widen, the person over the phone was practically hysterical, but she still couldn't make out the words. "Oh please, your imagination is going too far. Tomorrow there's going to be a big meeting with the entire family and he will officially be given his title as president. Uchiha-san asked every member of the council to prepare a form of the state of the company. All the information is here, and I have to study them before completing them to make graphs, put them in folders, it's so much to do and I can't take such valuable information home." She could imagine Hanabi frowning and rolling around in her bed in despair. "Don't worry, he'll call you back and I won't be long. I'll call you when I leave." With a soft smile, she hung up the phone and coincidentally Ino showed up, causing her to straighten herself, and push her glasses up. Without an exchange of words, Ino just handed her the documents and walked away, much to Hinata's surprise.

'_Huh... so a surprise for Sasuke? We'll see about that_.'

And after a few long hours passed, Sasuke stood stopped what he was typing and narrowed his eye at the email that Naruto had sent him. The video that exploded on the screen was one of his brother, never to gloat, but to Sasuke he knew the difference. His jaw tensed a fraction more than what it needed, letting it go he sighed and glanced at the time. Standing up, and barging into his secretary's room, it seemed he took her surprise as she jumped ten feet in the air.

"Hinata."

"Uchiha-san..."

"Sasuke is fine when we are meeting like this."

"Ah, well, Sasuke-san..."

With a curt nod he closed the door behind him and dragged a near by chair to sit in front of her. Sitting still, Hinata just stared at his actions, unsure of what to say or do.

"Why do you wear those thick glasses?" He demanded an answer more than questioned, seeing his own reflection than her eyes.

"I c-can't see." He gave her a passive look, not flinching. She on the other hand finally understood what he meant, "Ah, I'm s-sorry... I can't see from far away."

"Hm." His eyes traveled over to where the large stacks of papers were, "It's nothing I can't handle, Uchiha-san." Sasuke nodded in agreement, that was why he hired her anyways. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Her tone soft, barely audible. For a second he had lost his touch on what he came here to do. "The agenda, take it out and let's start working on that issue." She blinked and tilted her head, unsure if she should go against his wishes, "I understand, Uchiha-san, but doesn't the work load for tomorrow come first?"

He leaned his body slightly forward, "I trust your abilities to finish the work load on time. This shouldn't take long anyways." She froze, those words sending her crippling down to the ground. Tilting her head down, she continued as he asked.

"I'll alphabetize them, then categorize them." He smirked.

On the upper reception area near Sasuke's office Ino was tapping her heel against the tile, arms crossed over her chest.

"Ino, wait... I'm confused. What form are you talking about? What form does she have to do?" Ino just glared at her pinkette friend, "well, she said she was to reduce all the forms into one with graphs and everything so that it will be quicker for everyone to read through and be more efficient. And she's going to be working on it all night just to surprise Sasuke." She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "I bet she's doing it to make herself look great in front of everyone." Sakura had a slight look of boredom on her face, unsure of what her friend was getting at. Wasn't that normal, to try your hardest to keep your job after almost losing it? She almost couldn't blame her.

Almost.

"Ino, just forget about it, why are you torturing yourself over something like this. Just do the job that Sasuke asked you to do. Better this way for everyone." Ino scoffed, "No way. You forget about it Sakura. She won't end up looking like the hero of the day while I end up looking like a waitress, no. I went to finance school for seven semesters", Sakura rolled her eyes so hard she had to regain her composure from falling, "I have to make a name for myself! Tomorrow I will triumph over her, I just need your help." And with a playful wink, and hands on Sakura's shoulders, she mischievously smiled.

"Oh no, me help you out? I could never", and just grinned at her friend realizing maybe she had been spending too much time with Sasuke.

"Well hello there pretty ladies!" Naruto flashed them a smile and walked by with a sleepy looking Shikamaru who gave a curt nod. The two females just stared at them disappear into Sasuke's office and shrugged to themselves, going back to their conversation. Blue eyes scanned the empty room.

"Not an Uchiha in sight..." Shikamaru darted his eyes between the blond's body and the secretary's door. "You sent him the link, didn't you?" Naruto just grinned and pretended to be offended for a slight moment, "Me? Do something to stir the demon lord? I'd never..." Shikamaru just shook his head, not only at Naruto's words, but at the way he barged in on an annoyed Sasuke, and surprised Hinata. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively up and down, to only be smacked in the back of his head lightly by Shikamaru.

"Yeah yeah, sorry." And turned around closing the door behind them. "What you doing, Sasuke?"

Hinata answered for him, "We were finishing adding all the named on the agenda into the computer. It's divided into two categories, males and female. And each has three sub categories: 'Accept', 'Deny', and 'Revision'. Accept are for girls like Hirugashi-san, and Akerman-san. Deny would be for woman like Karin." Naruto nodded his head in amazement, putting everything together. "Wait... wasn't that what Shikamaru had told you to do a few weeks before, Sasuke?" Hinata dared to look up, only to meet with Shikmaru's almost nonexistent unwavering smile being sent her way. Sasuke only closed his eyes and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but we couldn't do that, at least at the moment he had suggested it." Naruto stroked his fake goatee and nodded, pretending to have understood their previous conversations, "I see, I see. and what is the 'Revision' sub categorize for?"

"Well, for woman who are in between. I'd typically study the situation and pass it over to Uchiha-san until he gives the final verdict." Shikamaru controlled himself from pulling a cigarette, "You said the males are in the same category, Nagumo-san?" Hinata nodded and glanced at the computer screen for a short moment.

"Yes, as for the men who would be on the 'Accept' tag would be for example, Akimichi-san and Shino-kun." Her breath held itself inside of her as all eyes instantly swarmed to look at her in mild interest or curiosity.

"_Kun?" _Naruto began, almost happy to get such a reaction from the girl, and from the way she was acting, she must have at least known the high end man from somewhere. "Don't tell me you've fallen for him only after having mentioned him... have you even seen him Hinata-_chan_?" She shook her head in disagreement, she needed to somehow get herself out of this slip of the tongue.

"He called back earlier today t-to say not to get him involved in such matters again, but he is happy that everything turned out for the best." It was hard to stay so focused, "Hah, Hinata-chan has a crush, kinda cute." And as quickly as his attention was on her, it switched over to Sasuke. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Even after all of this you're still going to marry Sakura, Sasuke?" The Uchiha said nothing, crossing one leg over the other. "You know what I think, Sasuke? I think you're not doing it cause you're in love with Sakura, but out of fear for her," he tried not to laugh, "I mean, you did chose you're fate, I'm not the one who'll be missing those fabulous nights."

Shikamaru's eyes never left Hinata's form, "Besides that, did you hear the news that are slowly starting to crawl everywhere, Sasuke?" The Uchiha turned his head slightly, interested where Shikamaru's words were leading.

"Neji Hyuga was spotted in China." Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"No way!" Naruto's mouth flew open, "I thought that guy was probably dead somewhere. No one has heard of him in ages." Sasuke stayed silent, and Hinata inwardly winced at Naruto's sharp words.

"No, seriously...", the blond's full attention was now at the Nara Clan's new head. "That guy just up and disappeared on day without a trace. Where did they see him?" Now Hinata and Sasuke were interested, "somewhere near southern China, when they received the photo it was a few days old. It was a photo of him walking down a busy street. Before they could take any more pictures of him he disappeared within the crowd." Naruto's face was like a small child who had just entered his favorite candy shop.

"Oh man, what does that even mean?" He placed his hands behind his head, "As much fun as it would be to have an old sparing partner back,what if he does come back, Sasuke?!" Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he sighed.

'_You just found out something about Neji, and this is all you have to say to it you dobe?'_

"We make sure he never brings back the Hyuga name and company." Hinata's thumb pressed against the other, feeling more than uncomfortable at the situation and revelation of Naruto's revelation of knowing and being close to Neji, and Shikamaru's eyes still analyzing her face. After a moment of silence, Sasuke tapped his hand on her desk, "I'll leave it to you Nagumo-san." And proceeded to leave quietly, with Naruto behind me. Before leaving, Shikamaru stopped and yawned, never looking back.

"Hyuga..."

Hinata felt her blood run cold, no matter what she was trying to do, she couldn't get her body to move or say anything. She wasn't dumb, she was more than positive he was addressing that directly to her.

"That last name has a nice ring to it, don't you think so, Nagumo-san?"

And with that, he closed the door behind him and went off to work. Hinata on the other hand had to learn how to control her breathing again.

* * *

Naruto stared at his mom in fear, "... but mom, I said I know! It was an acci-!" A frying pan was thrown his way as he ducked away from it. Now he was nervous, "Oh really? You say you know but here you are still coming late to dinner!"

"Now, dear, don't you think that-" Kushina swiftly turned her head to glare at her husband who instantly rose his hands up in the air and looked away, then giving his son one apologetic look. Naruto could only mouth back, 'traitor' in return.

"Honestly, Naruto. We practically don't even see you anymore. And when we do, which is barely once a month, you come late? Just how important is this job that you're doing?!" Now she was shouting at a blond, who was hiding behind a bigger blond, who were both giving her puppy dog and apologetic looks. A sigh escaped her lips as she could only place the next frying pan down.

_'Be civil, Kushina. Stay calm. It's not everyday you see your son as often as you once did.'_

"Get back to the table, both of you." And without another word, the duo migrated behind the redhead over towards the small wooden table in silence. The setting was simple, all courses home cooked by his mother, even though they had cooks and servants who could have done the same.

Naruto grabbed a small loaf of bread, the size of his hand, and tore it in half, "So, Naruto..." Minato began and raised a spoonful of soup up to his lips, "you said you had news for us?" At that the younger version of him nodded his head frantically, then quickly chugged a tall glass of water down to not choke of the bread. "Aha! That's right, I had almost forgotten. Shika told us that Neji was spotted in China! And apparently he was doing well."

Kushina and Minato just nodded their heads slowly, "Aha... Neji", and then it hit them like a train, "Neji?!" Both shouted over at their son, eyes wide. "You mean like, Neji Hyuga? The one that disappeared years ago?"

Naruto just stared at his parents in slight awe, never expecting such a reaction from them, "Aha, yeah. Is there something wrong about that?" Kushina shared a knowing glance with Minato and only smiled back to her child.

"Haha, no Naruto. Not at all, we were just surprised." She placed the spoon down knowing it would change into quite the conversation, "Those were quite the news you gave us. The last that was ever heard of that boy was him stating in live national television that the Hyuga company was cutting ties with the Aburame's. Then a month later the company filed for bankruptcy and he was never seen again. It was like he just disappeared into thin air."

Naruto just stared at his mother as if she had grown two extra heads, "Wh-what?! The Hyuga's were partnered with the Aburames?" Both parents nodded their heads slightly, "Naruto, it's public knowledge. It's amazing that no one was hurt at the end of it all."

"Why would anyone get hurt mom?" An eyebrow raised up and Kushina held the cutting knife in her hand harshly, a divergent fate telling her to go on and fling it at her dense son. "Financially, Naruto. I meant financially. The general public doesn't have information on this, but when he broke the partnership with the Aburame's, he also broke it with everyone else at the same time."

"Including us." Added Minato.

"One moment our shares were normal, and the next morning we had every penny back in our hands. It really took us by surprise and we were really worried. Even though he had been running the company for five years already, he was still twenty-two at the time. Prodigy or not, we were at the edge of our seats thinking all that money that was invested in the company we would never get it back, same with the partnerships and the workers present. We don't know why he didn't want to make it public, but we assume it was to not cause any more problems for their name."

Naruto could only stare down at the plate of food in front of him, everything slowly coming back.

"He send each of the partnered companies a hand written letter about why he didn't disclose it to the public. Do you know why he left, or why he is coming back, Naruto?"

The blond only shook his head, "No... one moment he was there, the next his phone was disconnected and no one heard of him. We looked around for him frantically, but nothing. And now he's coming back..."

Minato and Kushina shared another glance with mild worry. Kushina flashed him a lopsided smile and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Naruto. That sparing partner of yours will come back to you eventually. I'm sure he'll explain everything." Naruto just nodded his head, then his eyes grew wide in realization. "Wh-wait.. we had a partnership with the Hyugas?!" His eyes darted in a a fury between his mother and father waiting for an explanation.

Minato on the other hand waved his hand to blow some air on his face. "All, of a sudden, it got really hot. Will you excuse me..." And promptly tried to stand up, but was caught by the wrist by his wife's firm grip.

"Oh, dear... don't you think _we _have some explaining to tell Naruto?"

Minato just gulped, he could feel the sweat dripping down the side of his face, '_Shit_...' He instantly stopped the charades and sat back down.

"Yes, we did Naruto. And no one is suppose to know about it." Kushina nodded in agreement, "If it wasn't for your father's slip up, you might have never known too."

"Naruto, listen, and listen well. The Hyuga's were very, very secretive and private people. Maybe even more so than the Uchiha's themselves." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows together. "And the one that in forced that law above anything was, Haruki. That's her name, Naruto. Haruki Hyuga, Hiashi's wife." Naruto actually looked like he was paying attention, "I don't remember seeing her around much. Hell, if I remember anything about her it would be a miracle."

"We actually can't blame you for that. She died in a car crash a few months after giving birth to Hanabi, their only daughter." Kushina frowned, then slowly exhaled, "she was a very kind and soft spoken woman, very elegant and well behaved. She never really appeared much on tv, but when she did she was the star of the week." Minato couldn't help but agree with his wife's words, "the few times that we talked to her, she only had nice words to say, it was a real shame she passed away in such a manner."

"Yeah, but why did she in force such a law?" Naruto's food now forgotten in the conversation.

"Oh, sorry, got out of line there. Well..." She gave a light shrug of the shoulders and her husband shook his head, "we don't really know, atleast personally. She just didn't like the lime light, or people snooping around her and her family's business."

"Although we can state this as a fact because she was notorious for firing people from their estate when they wouldn't keep their mouth quiet."

"But didn't Sasuke's family do the same thing? Especially during Itachi's scandal?"

Kushina shook her head, "It's not the same, there was actually something to say about Itachi, there was talk in more ways than one. Meanwhile for the Hyugas, you could probably go on digging for years and probably wouldn't find anything on them."

"Hey mom, dad, what did their company do?"

Kushina just smiled at her son, "simple..."

* * *

"... Kimonos I believe." Finished Shikaku. Shikamaru stood up and dusted his pants off lightly. "Neji really did a number on the media. One day they were everything everyone talked about, the next like they never existed. If you never bought a Kimono from them, there's a very low chance you'll find any traces of them in any store."

"Not even online?"

"Their cheapest Kimonos were in the five digits, not something the average Japanese person can afford. They really catered to the elites and highest end of society, Shikamaru." At that he just nodded in acknowledgement, "and no one has bothered to look up on those people? It's quite strange how Neji disappears one day and then the whole family does the same a week later. Not a paparazzi to capture anything?"

The head of the clan just shrugged, "what are you thinking about, Shikamaru?"

"How many children did Hiashi ever have?" Shikaku's eyes narrowed, "You're barking up the wrong tree, Shikamaru. Stop that train of thought, where ever you think it is going."

"Haruki Hyuga, that was her name right?" His father paused for a moment, taking a deep breath of air and nodded, "What of it?"

"Was she always in the spot light?"

"Not that I know of, the media only really took interest in her when she gave birth to Hanabi, their only child. Besides that, she was a very private person. No one even knew where she came from."

"And how old would Hanabi be by now?"

"Shikamaru... I can't physically control your actions, but think what ever you plan on doing, through. Don't let that decent brain between your shoulders rot away." By then Shikaku was standing up and living his son with a finished game of Shougi for him to study.

"One more question," he paused before he closed the door behind him, "who were their man suppliers for textiles, if they had any?"

"I can't think of any," Shikamaru turned his head slightly to glance at the silhouette of his father behind the rice screen door, "but one. The Aburames, I believe." And shut the door behind him. And that, Shikamaru advance his rook one step forward and decided in a matter of weeks, he'd start his plan.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"-and then he said he was frustrated at me, can you believe him, Hina?" Hanabi puckered up her lips as she finished getting ready and then held the door open for her sister. Both heading out to the closest bus stop. Hinata only listened for a moment before she could come up with a decent comeback.

"Next time that he thinks so highly of himself, just tell him: frustration is when Germany started out with socialism but was taken over by fascism." Hanabi just blinked and stared at her older sister in awe. "Or tell him frustration is Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo, or when Einstein found out that they were using his methods to create an atomic bomb." She flashed Hanabi a smile, "and if you haven't done anything that big to frustrate him, then he shouldn't get into so many arguments with you."

Hanabi gently nodded her head and soon entered the bus with her sister, taking a seat in the back as usual.

"Hey, Hina?"

"Yes?"

"Those were really dramatic examples..." and Hinata just gave a nervous laugh, maybe she had gone over board.

* * *

Prim and actually looking modest and proper, she clapped her hands together a few times to get the servers attention, "Hurry up with the coffee, you guys are late. Make sure everything is in the boardroom." Glancing towards the elevators she sighed at Hinata's attire, looking presentable to her standards she sized the girl up, "What is it?"

"Has Uchiha-san, arrived? "

Ino tilted her head back, "Not to my knowledge, but he should be arriving any minute now with all his family and the rest of the investors."

"Th-thank you..." Hinata didn't spare her another glance as she scurried off into her own room. "So, the ugly duckling arrived", Sakura said while walking over towards Ino, "did she finish all of the work?"

The blond just shrugged her shoulders, "I have no idea-"

"Come now, Ino. Don't play the slow poke here. We don't want her setting everything up, or giving it to Sasuke." Ino just nodded her head and disappeared to finish attending to the final things, and out the elevator doors appears Sasuke with his family, and Kankuro. "Sasuke!" The pinkette practically ran to her fiance and plopped a kiss on his lips that he softly returned, then red cheeked, she gave a curt nod to the rest of them.

"Hello, Fugaku-san, Mikoto-san." Turning around she wrapped her arms around her older brother, "and hello to you too, Kankuro." He grinned and ran his fingers through her bangs.

"Sup, pinky. Nice to see you too. So how about it we go and start sitting down." Smiling, Sakura led them all to the official conference room for a large seating area. "By the way, Kankuro, where is Temari and Gaara?" He thought about it for a moment, "she should be getting here soon, she was coming back from her trip to Spain. And if I'm correct, Gaara should be here any moment as well. His financial meeting shouldn't be taking that long. Nodding her head in understanding, she sat down next to Sasuke.

The room had a nice ambiance to it that practically relaxed anyone that stepped foot inside. The color scheme being Uchiha favored, black, red, and white and extremely linear and clean, well compared to the Sabaku color schemes of rich and rustic colors of red, orange, yellow, brown, and dark greens. At the head of the long rectangular table sat Fugaku, to his left Mikoto followed by Sasuke and Sakura. Already having been sitting down, now next to Sakura, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kakashi, and at the last seat Sai. Meanwhile to Fugaku's right, Kankuro sat quietly, waiting for the rest of his two siblings to arrive.

"Now that everyone is here, shouldn't we begin?"

"But Gaara and Temari aren't here yet." Sakura added, "I could care less for Gaara if he does show up or not." Then all of a sudden he felt a stabbing pain on his side, his mother glaring at him from the corner of her. His father giving him the, 'I don't want any conflicts' look.

Downstairs the sound of two people laughing could be heard a mile away, "n-no, wait Tenten, stop making me laugh. I can't finish my story t-then." The brunette girl just snorted from how hard she was laughing, hand slapping her thigh. "And he ate it-it too-!"

"Good morning..." Uttered Gaara in deep and low voice, commanding the attention of the two people in the reception area. Kiba and Tenten instantly stood up straight, whatever hint of happiness in their faces was soon erased with one filled with fear and nervousness. "Good morning, Sabaku-san." His green hues from slowly from one figure to another, tension rising high in the air. "Inform my chauffeur where he can park, it seems nobody took the liberty to reserve a parking spot for me." Kiba instantly perked up and nodded his head, never being one to like the guy, and secretly happy that the lesser of the two evil had won the presidency.

"You act like you didn't know there was formal meeting today." At that statement Tenten inwardly cringed, "No Sabaku-san. My deepest apologies, it won't happen again."

"I can t-!"

Before he knew what had hit him, Gaara had a woman with the scent of lilacs sprawled over him, both of their bodies on the floor as a manila envelope slid across and away from them. At that moment Tenten had sworn she had died and gone to heaven, but was rejected by her ancestors because she needed to finish witnessing the situation. Gaara just waited almost a little too calmly for her to do anything. The woman groaned in displeasure, their eyes meeting for a moment too long. Hinata was just happy that she had decided to wear her blue contacts today. Her heart skipped a beat and instantly realizing the compromising position she was in, she picked up her glasses from his chest and put them back up, dusting herself and trying to stop her red face from overheating.

Seeing the mess she had made, she picked up the manila envelope and his briefcase, "A-a-are you a-a-alright?" She asked the now standing tall redhead, "I hope so." He stated and coldly stared at her, "Who are you?"

For the first moment in a really long time she felt like telling this man her real name, but knew better, "Hinata, Sabaku-san. Hinata Nagumo."

"How do you know my name?" His eyes narrowing over her form, glancing at the plain and more than outdated clothes she was wearing. "O-oh, economic magazines you published some articles. You're also in charge of this financial district, and you're also o-one of the investors of this company." Hinata didn't know where she all of a sudden she found this amount of courage from, but she was liking it. The only thing is, that she never knew he would be like this in person.

"What publications have you seen me in?"

Her eyes darted to the ground. Maybe she had spoken too soon, "Economic, Power Portfolio, Forbes, and Japan Economic weekly..." Her eyes darted to see him, but quickly went back down to the floor, by now she had assumed he would be leaving but yet there he was standing, except now he looked like he was plotting something she had no interest in knowing. "What is your position in this company?"

"Sasuke Uchiha-san's new secretary." His face not showing a sign of anything, he inhaled deeply, "so he hired two, secretaries..." Hinata stayed silent, taking a step out of his way as he walked towards the elevator. "Bigamy. Having two secretaries is like having two woman. Double the costs, with one is enough." And the elevator door shut closed, leaving Hinata to trying to snap back a dazed Tenten who couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.

Opening the door the conference room, he sighed and stared at everyone in there, "Good morning, Sakura, Kankuro." He addressed his siblings with the faintest of smiles, and in returned he received a large smile from his youngest sister. "Forgive my late arrival." He took a seat next to a bored Kankuro, "how come you're late, bro? It's not like you to be tardy?" His darted from Kankuro's face, towards Sasuke's. "You all know I am never late for a meeting. Especially attending a funeral like this." Naruto, Kakashi and Shikamaru just eyed Sasuke carefully, scared that their friend might do something. "Don't worry,Gaara. We weren't missing you."

"I was late because none of your two secretaries had the decency to reserve or arrange a parking spot for me." Sasuke scoffed, "you heard the man, Ino. He seems to want an explanation."

Ino had a look of shook on her face, not seeming to want to get close to the redhead. Eyeing him over once more she came to notice how handsome he was, but knew her boundaries better than to say anything at the moment. "Oh, sorry, Gaara-san. It won't happen again."

Sakura perked up, "that's right. Shouldn't we wait for Temari?" Gaara shook his head lightly, "I don't believe her presence is very important for this part of the meeting. Something... came up." The pinkette exchanged glances with her brother, but decided to say anything against it. "Well, shall we begin this funeral cremation?" Besides Gaara and Sasuke, everyone mentally sighed. past twenty years and they still couldn't find it in themselves to get along.

Fugaku clapped his hands once, all the attention on him, "Before we start, there will be no arguing. This is a respectable meeting, so respect one another and the company. Not only will there be a transfer of power, but there will also be a transfer of familiarity, as you all know. It has been 35 years, since both dear friends Rasa and Karura, and I with Mikoto formed this company. It was decided long before any of you were born, it would based on friendship. We never cared, who would become the president or not, the only thing that we were worried about is that we wanted the company to work, to satisfied our needs and on top of it all to make it strong, and built up our friendship. We were associates and friends, until that unfortunate day when we lost him and Karura, in that horrible car crash." Sakura could only look down in distaste while holding onto Sasuke's hand, and Mikoto doing the same. The room was silent, but while Sasuke's face was void of emotion he was raging inside.

'_Lies. All you wanted was for Itachi to take control of the situation_.'

A soft chime on Ino's phone disrupted everyone for their silent mornings, "Sorry, about that. But let me take this chance to say that I ordered lunch at 12:30, inside the folders in front of you are two menus as well." Ino stated in a triumphant tone. To that Kakashi only stared at the beautifully decorated folder with a bit of skepticism. "You did this Ino?" She smirked and nodded her head, "Of course!"

The silver haired man just silently stared at her, "I thought these folders would also have the forms inside-" Sasuke interrupted him, "Call Nagumo-san for me..."

"Who's Nagumo-san?" Asked Kankuro with a confused look in his face, hoping that he hadn't forgotten anyone's name in the room.

"Nagumo is Sasuke's other secretary." Gaara finally answered, eyes closed. Kankuro was trying to not get a laugh out of all of this. "You're kidding, right Sasuk-!" He instantly shut his mouth once he saw Sasuke's glare directed at him.

"Anyways..." Ino began, "don't worry about anything, Sasuke. The forms will be arriving. I believe Nagumo-san was finishing off the last copies." Sasuke's glare was now directed at her, "and if you will excuse me, I'll be going to get it now." After one cheesy smile, she instantly left the room in search for the young woman having a good idea where she might be. Heading to her small little office, she grinned at her while Hinata only stared back in mild confusion.

"Hello, Nagumo-san."

"H-hello... Yamanaka-san. Can I help you with something?"

"Hey, do you remember how yesterday Sasuke-kun ordered everyone to give you those files?" She nodded, "yes, I have them here. I was just to give it to them." Ino blinked staring at those papers in now plain, but very organized folder, "But that's not originals."

"They're not." Hinata genuinely smiled, taking Ino back for a second. "What I did was, that I took all the forms and condensed them, so that was when Uchiha-san and the rest of them read it, they don't have to deal with so much paperwork." Ino was actually impressed, and thoroughly envious, "mind if I see them?" Hinata, also taken back, decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and opened one for her to glance it over, "S-sure, here are the list of topic in the main paper. We have a list of department, a listing of how much the company made, all the investments, production numbers, and stocks. Plus there are graphs that e-explains everything like the movement of banks, inventories, store numbers and such." She flipped to a few pages later, "As you can see, its very easy to follow through, and reader friendly." And instantly she closed it and placed it back in the envelope. "Excuse me, Yamanaka-san... I must be going."

Ino's eyes widen realizing she had almost forgotten her original objective, "w-wai-"

"You don't have to do that, Nagumo-san." Cut in Sakura, now appearing and looking at the scene between the two woman. "Ino can do that."

Hinata frowned, tightening her grip on the folder, scared that the same incident with the agenda would happen again. "I wanted to personally give it to Uchiha-san, explain how everything is organized." Ino quickly grabbed the forms from her fingertips, but didn't move causing Hinata to stiffen in place and not do anything, "Don't worry about a thing, Nagumo-san", Sakura's voice ice cream sweet, "Ino can explain everything, I'm sure he'll be able to see tell it's your work. Besides, you do look extremely tired, and I'd rather have someone who can produce such great work to not be falling asleep on me."

Hinata for a split second was confused, even Ino gave her a slight look, "w-w-what do you mean?"

"To do something of such high caliber, I bet you stayed up most of the night, and from the look in your face, I bet you haven't eaten either." Hinata just stayed silent and tried not to show any signs of emotions, "How about you go and take a nap in the modeling resting room, no one should be there. And afterwards go take a long break in lunch. You deserve it." Ino was now standing glancing over one of the documents as she nodded her head to Sakura's words.

"Take it as an apology from my actions. For being so foul to you before." Hinata was heaving the worse inner struggle, unsure of what to do. Her stomach groaned in pain and her eyes were starting to sting.

_'I mean, she is right...'_

"I-I suppose."

Sakura grinned and placed a hand on her hip, "glad to hear that. Go on, I'll be sure to tell Sasuke the hard work you've done."

"W-well, Uchiha-san, what if Sasuke-san needs me for anything?"

Sakura paused, almost about to leave. Ino also stopped in her tracks, but feeling herself being pushed by her friend, she took the cue and left, "No, no, no he won't need you. When we are in a meeting, we don't want anybody to interrupt us. Now turn off the computer, close the door and office, come back later this afternoon just in case we need anything." She smiles and finally takes off leaving a confused Hinata standing.

'_Okaa-san... please let today be a good day_.' She thought to herself and sat down for a moment to regain her composure, wondering if she had done the right thing letting those woman go of like that.

'_Well... she did seem apologetic_.'

Back at the conference room, no came in to an anxious looking Sakura, who somehow managed to get there before her, and a stare of going between Sasuke and Gaara.

"Excuse, me!" She smiled and started to place the last folders in front of everyone. "Well, now that you have the form that Sasuke asked for, Ino will be the one explaining everything to you." Stated Sakura as her fiance tried to read her face, but for a moment couldn't find anything. Ino gave her best friend a playful wink, "of course, I'd love to. Everyone, before you there is a resume of the operation of each department. It was a page that fully details everything, even with some graphics. In conclusion, I really think that this form quickly explain what is occurring the company. The next page does the same, but with an approximation of how the company will do in three months, followed by six, and finally a year.

Shikamaru eyed the power, then scratched the back of his head, swearing he had seen this somewhere before. "Nicely done, Ino."

"Yeah Ino, great job," Naruto eyed the paper, understanding everyone a lot easier than when they'd have other meetings, "but I thought this was Hinata-chan's job?... Or no?" His face turned to one of confusion.

'_When did he start calling her Hinata-chan_?' Thought Sakura and Ino unanimously.

Fugaku exchanged a look with his wife, "yes, it is a nice form. I still have my doubts, if she did the job, plus being in charge of the image of the company, why do you need to secretaries?" Sasuke stayed silent and took in a deep breath, "I needed someone who-"

Gaara interrupted him, Ino just stayed in her place, a smug grin on her face, "it's not because she is beautiful." Kankuro didn't know what to do as the room was divided with people who laughed and other who stayed silent and frowning. Letting go of Sakura's hand, he eyed Gaara, "what are you saying?" He leaned in a bit forward, "she has other functions."

"I'm sure it does, but it still doesn't justify two salaries when one secretary is doing everything."

Kakashi felt a vibration in his back pocket and took out his phone and narrowed his eyes at what the screen said, quietly standing up, he left without a trace, no one asking anything and accepting that he'd be back when needed. Kakashi was usually there for a formal appearance, and the fact that he was one time was something in on it self. On a good meeting, he'd arrive right when the closing statements would be announced. Sliding the door open, he came face to face with Hinata, her body being hidden behind his larger frame. His eyes landed on her hands, now formed into tiny fists shaking by her side and closed the door behind him, more than sure no on had noticed.

He mentally sighed, and eyes drifting off for a second before he gave in to his little mental game and took her tiny fist in his hand, almost dragging her if need be. He secretly wondered if she had even noticed his presence. Hinata didn't know for how long she had been standing, but apparently it was enough that she heard all of Ino's words, Sakura not once saying a thing.

'_This is bad. Of course Ino couldn't do something like that, Shikamaru must be having a field day._'

Seeing they were already by the dark lit parking garage, his eyes scanning the area happy with what he saw, not a soul in sight and his car parked a few feet of them to the left.

"Hinata..."

It was as if he had lifted her from a spell, not realizing how strong and crisp her name was when he said it.

"Hinata." This time she looked up, almost unaware of where she was and how she got there. Her mind must of have been a jumbled mess that she hadn't even comprehended the situation she was, and probably dragged herself into.

"Hatake-san? Why a-are we- !" She saw him taking out off his suit jacket and instantly turned around, realizing that when he did that was when he let go of her hand. A feeling of warmth instantly enveloped her and she turned her head around to face Kakashi face to face. Taken by surprise she took a step back, backing into a pillar, her hands clenching the fabric closer to her unconsciously.

"H-Ha-Hatake-san! Wh-why?!" He couldn't help but hide behind the small white mask.

"Nagumo-san, it was a coincidence. Besides, when I stepped out you looked like you had seen a ghost." He took a step closer to her and bent a little to meet her at eye level, "you had me scared there for a second." Her eyes darted to the ground and pushed her glasses up, slightly calming down.

'_What type of face did I have?_'

"Would you... like to talk about it? You really did have a pained look in your face." Kakashi at that moment felt like he was betraying the trust he didn't even have from the girl, but he had a small agenda of his own he needed some answers. And if it meant bringing her close, he would. Hinata just bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, letting time tick by as Kakashi waited patiently for an answer.

"W-would you... would you believe me if I said..."

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading! So tell me, tell me, what do you think?  
Neji might be coming back, the Akatsuki made another appearance, and what is Hinata going to ask Kakashi?!  
The world may never know, so stay tuned for the next chapter!

The Count, Kennedy.


	7. Chapter 7: One Step Forward

A/N:

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well. Well after reading the reviews I am truly happy about what everyone has been saying, even if some haven't been that... positive. The fact that I can get such a great reaction means that I'm doing something right, whether its anger or suspense the readers are feeling from reading my work.

And by the way guys, I know I haven't really mentioned much about myself, but I'm a full time student (even in the summer) and I work full time. I'm also an Art Major so I take the bit of free time I have to do my projects and keep my grades up. Which brings be to the last topic I wanted to speak about: Betas. I don't want a beta, and I won't get one. One last thing, theres a big difference being confused with how I write, and what is going in the chapter. The story is suppose to be confusing. You're not suppose to know what the hell is going on until later chapters, so just please be patient. I've already finished fully planning out the whole story, now it's just typing it up.

Well now that, that is over please enjoy the chapter!

The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 7: One Step Forward**

"Would you b-believe me if I t-told you I was the one that wrote that form?"

Kakashi blinked, truly not knowing what to think of the question. He stood up straight and sighed, trying to calm his racing mind. '_I could have sworn she was going to ask something else. Either way I better reply to that person quickly.' _Leaning all his weight on one leg, he nodded his head, to which her lilac hues widened a fraction.

"Y-you do?" Her hand clentching the jacket he had placed over her shoulders, now calming and making her feel warm.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I, Nagumo-san?"

She tried to find the right words, but could only keep coming up with the same thing over and over, "Because... Ino and Sakura lied!" It was almost fair to say that Kakashi was taken back by her words and harsh tone of voice, not thinking she had it in her. "Yeah... they weren't always like that." Hinata took in a deep breath, confused by the statement.

"A-ano, what do you mean, Hatake-san?"

"No, just talking to my self Nagumo-san."

"A-alright... thank you. Thank you for hearing me out."

"You really haven't said much though." She looked away, face heating up from emberassment. He truly reminded her of Hanabi, always setting her back to reality. Hinata could already imagine her little sister running up a storm about sueing those woman and telling them to go to hell. As fun as it would be to sue them with every legal law in her favor, she knew that it would be extremly hard to win the case, and proving it was hers to begin with would be even harder. Mentally sighing she slowly took off the oversized coat and slowly outstretched her hand to hand it back to the man, trying to meet him eye to eye.

Taking back the jacket, Kakashi smiled under his mask and put it on. It truly was interesting to see all the different emotions she could show in a matter of a few moments, he'd have to tell her to take those thick glasses off eventually. "You're welcoming, Nagumo-san. But what are you going to do about it?"

She paused, only having been thinking about the anger inside of her, "P-pardon?"

"Are you going to tell Sakura and Ino something?"

Her eyes didn't flinch as percervirience was written over her features, "Y-yes, I'd like to. I don't want so-something like this to h-happen again." Kakashi was now amused, thinking whether he should tell Sasuke or not, but he was sure the now new president of the company could tell something was up. "I'm happy to hear that, Nagumo-san." He started to put the jacket back on and started to walk in the opposite directon towards the elevators, deciding to follow him, Hinata's feet quickly caught up to him.

"Hinata... Hinata is just fine." He eyed her from the corner of his eyes, thoroughly impressed by her slowly growing courage. '_Maybe all she needs is a small push or two in the right direction_.'

"Alright_, Hinata_. Then you may call me Kakashi as well." Hinata nodded her head, seeing where he was getting at, almost treating the non-formal name exchange into a teasing contest that she knew she had no chance in winning. His phone gave one vibration once more, and Kakashi pretended to not even have felt it, but also thanking it as it sparked a small idea in his head. "By the way, did you hear that Neji Hyuga was spotted in China." Hinata's stomach churned, unsure if it was because of the question or the fact that she hadn't eatten anything.

"Ah, y-yes. Nara-san and Uzumaki-san had mentioned something about that. Uchiha-san wasn't pleased." Arriving at their location, he pressed the 'UP' botton and they both waited in mild silence for a moment.

"Wouldn't be Sasuke otherwise. I wonder how Naruto's taking it. Do you know anything about him, Hinata-chan?" She played with the hem of the shirt she was wearing, "The same as everyone e-else." He gave a curt nod in understanding, the elevator doors opened up and soon they stepped in.

"Floor?"

"First please. I'd like to go for a walk and cool my head, get something to eat as well." She admitted and Kakashi didn't go against her words, and then he pressed the second most upper botton to go back into the meeting. Instantly, they were at the first floor, "Th-thank you, Hatake-san. Your words and actions really did help me out." He blinked, pretending to be confused about what she was talking, hand scratching the back of his head.

"Huh? Oh no, I didn't really do anything, Hinata-chan, honestly."

Giving back a curt nod and understanding, she stepped out of the elevator, but to be stopped in her tracks by his words, "If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here." Right as she came to her senses and turned around to say something back, the elevators doors had closed and he was gone. Smiling faintly, she stepped out of the company to briskly walk away from a Suigetsu who scoffed at the fact that she had ignored him and had given him her back. Before she knew it, her feet had guided her to the outside of a small restuarant with a friendly atmostphere.

"I-chi-ra-ku Ramen..." She sounded out the name, tilting her head as she took the place in. Her body relaxed almost instantly from getting a wiff of the delicious food, her mouth starting to salavate. Shaking her head she snapped herself out of the daze and went for her back pocket, "Huh.." Hinata frantically patted herself down, from her back pockets to wiggling her toes inside her shoes to see if she had some emergency money.

"Oh no..." She patted herself down one more time and mentally sighed, coming to the conclusion that she had left her wallet at her office. Another thing to add to her delay. As she was about to turn around and leave, two different hands, one on each of her shoulders stopped her in her tracks. Turning her head around, Kin and Tayuya's pretty face came into view.

"A-ano..."

"Shut it... we're buying you lunch. While we were ordering we saw you, and decided to buy you one." With an arm now fully wrapped around her shoulder, Tayuya guided her in, Kin closely behind examining the ends of her dark hair. "Honestly, even _we_ felt bad seeing you outside like that. You looked like a kicked puppy." Hinata just stayed silent, not knowing what exactly to do in this situation. A few feet ahead, a smiling Tenten with a laughing Haku and Kiba were seated in the six chair table, waiting patiently for the other secretaries to come back. The table was set up as Tayuya, Tenten, and Kiba on one side, Kin followed by Hinata and Haku on the other.

Kiba, being the first to spot her broke into a fit of laughter but managed to still speak up to her once she had been seated. "So, had a bit of a, you could say, _slip up _with Gaara, huh?"

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise and looked away to only be faced with coal hues, Kin looked at her with an unwavering gaze, "Good choice." Haku just tried to give her a reasuring smile.

Tenten clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Alright alright. I'm sure Nagumo-san here has met everyone, but how about a formal greeting? I'll start, how about it. Well you already know me, I'm Tenten, the receptionist of the company. I've been working here for four years, and still practicing to become a martial arts instructor." Hinata smiled in awe, and tried so hard to keep that smile up as her words reminded her of Neji. Kiba decided to take the lead and gave her a toothy grin. "Hey, as you know I'm Kiba, and I'm practically the errand boy of the company. I'm usually the one who hands Tenten the morning letters, and as you saw this morning, sometimes work as a vallet parker. Usually my dog Akamaru is with me, but because he's a bit down, he's at home with my sister." The rest of the group gave a small laugh, "but I've been working in the company for about three years now."

Haku nodded his head and glanced at her form, trying at the same time to take a small peak of her eyes under her thick glasses. "My name is Haku, I've been modeling since I was nine, and only until a few days ago did I change my mind and started to work under Sai as his secretary." Hinata gave the handsome and beautiful man a small smile. He really was something else. "Well, my name is Hinata Nagumo. I am Sasuke Uchiha's secretary and I just started to work in the company. I want to own my own business one day." All of them gave her a look of amusement, "We know, Hinata. You didn't have to tell us, but we got the hint of it." Pipped in Tenten at the last moment.

"Oh? What would your business be about?"

Hinata stayed silent, fidgeting for a moment before answering Haku's question, "Kimonos would seem nice."

Everyone stayed silent, unsure of how that would work, but could somehow see her doing it. "You're too innocent for your own good, you know that? Well, anyways, I'm Kin. I live with my two other siblings and I've been working in this company for two years now as that pervert's, Kakashi Hatake, secretary." She flashed Tayuya a knowing look, "And I'm Tayuya, that lazy Shikamaru Nara's receptionist. I've been working here for about six months now thanks to Kin. We've been child hood friend and she recommended this job to me. I honestly don't even fucking know how I got it." Shrugging it off, before anyone could comment of her statement, the food arrived and Hinata stared at it in a curios manner, examining all the contents of the ramen. "Itadakimasu." Spoke everyone in unision while giving thanks to the old man. Breaking the chop sticks apart, she inhaled the sweet aroma and dug in. She was so happy that the food kept her warm inside.

Haku was the first one to speak, "Well, doesn't that mean that there are a few secretaries missing?" Everyone looked over at Tenten who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, not really having anyone else come to mind.

"What I'm trying to say is, doesn't Naruto-san, and Sakura-san have secretaries?" Kiba snickered and looked like he was about to burst because of how many secrets he had kept inside. "I can answer that one for you, dear Haku."

Haku smiled sweetly, "Don't call me dear."

"As I was saying, _dear_ Haku, Naruto doesn't have a secretary because the last one they hired was an undercover spy for another company, and the other two that they hired after that were Sasuke fangirls." Haku and Hinata exchanged a surprise look.

"Wh-what, what happned to her? Who was she?"

"Well, she went by Megumi Takani, but for all we know that could have been a fake name. She hard dark black hair and brown eyes. Very beautiful woman, but even then she could have worn contacts and dyed her hair. No one knows, but rumor has it that she had to go to South America or something because the Uchiha would make sure that she wouldn't be able to get a job in North America, Europe, or most Asian countries."

"Let's just say the same way the issue came up, it disappeared in a matter of days." Stated Kin and continued eating.

"What about Sakura-san then?" Asked Haku once more as Hinata stopped eatting, her hunger and appitite suddenly gone, the mornings account coming back to mind. Now it was Tenten's moment to shine, "Well, she fell head over heels in love with Sasuke-san, and well... she had no other choice than to quit. Even if she didn't act on it. So now Naruto-san and Sakura-san have no secreteries, and I'm sure within a few days, maybe a week or two, they'll find a new one. In the mean time, Tayuya and Kin and are helping them out."

"Sure.. quit. More like was chased to the fucking hills because of Sakura realizing what was happening. If you would have arrived ten days earlier, you would have seen it in person."

"Geez, Tayuya, tell us how you really feel.."

The red head glanced over at Tenten, raising an eyebrow and excepting her challenge. The brunette on the other hand just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"W-why would she fall in love with Sasuke-san, if she knew he was engaged? Did.. did they have a relationship of some kind?" Even Haku was slightly amused and intrigued by what they were saying.

"Relationship? Please, she wished. Sasuke-san's visual and taste pallete is exceptional and refined. He wouldn't lower himself to someone like her." Kin stated as she patted the corners of her mouth after eating.

"Well, what happened?" Haku asked, food cast aside now. "Nothing, she fell in love with a brick. The poor girl could have done a strip tease infront of him on his desk and he would have been unfaced by it." Finished Kiba off, also done with the food, "Then why quit?" Kiba shrugged at Tenten's question.

"I heard that it was because if she didn't do it, she wouldn't have been able to control herself and would have flung herself at Sasuke and violated hi- ow! Don't hit me like that Tenten!"

"Tayuya! Come on, that's mean! I'm sure she did what she did because she didn't want anyone to find out about her feelings. Can you believe what would have happened?"

"What? It's true, don't tell me I was the only one who saw the looks she was giving him. She was practically one of those crazy fangirls that managed to have enough space in her little air head of a brain to actually function and do some tasks around the office. I didn't even get her name."

Tenten sighed, head on hand, elbow on table. "Yeah, me neither. She wasn't there for long and she didn't even introduce herself."

"So no one knows her name?" questioned Hinata, but was only recieved back with silence for all sides.

"Listen, and listen well Hinata. Don't ever fall in love with Sasuke Uchiha!" Stated Tenten in a firm manner, almost being over protective of her new friend. The rest of the group nodded their heads in agreement.

"Oh n-no. I couldn't... I would n-never."

"Good." Stated Kin and smirked, "But don't worry about it, Hinata. Out of all of us here, you have the best boss, well except the moments when he is mad, but besides that, he is divine to work with and for." Hinata tilted her head, intrigued by Kin's words. "It's true. Thankfully they didn't put Gaara as head of presidency." Tenten and Kiba tried to withold a laugh as Haku shook his head. All of a sudden, the harsh and evil image of Gaara had been slowly crumbling to the ground after the story that Tenten had told them about what had happened a few hours ago.

"Is he, that bad?"

Tenten gave a weird expression and sighed, "It's not that he is bad... but he has such a short temper and such 'unique' ideas and ways of working that it makes it extremly hard for anyone in the company to follow him as a leader. Hell, Kin, how about you explain some of things that are going on."

The petit woman nodded her head and sighed, "Well, Hinata, as you know, the company is owned by the Sabaku's and the Uchiha's, correct?" She nodded her head, "As well as other small stock owners."

"Exactly, like Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara, the vice presidents of the company. Well, a long time ago, but a bit after Sakura was adopted into their family, the heads of the Sabaku family died in a horrendouz car crash and it took every thing Fugaku had to keep the company running all by himself at the time. Mikoto-"

Tenten chirped in, "being her kind self,"

"Sure, as I was saying, decided to take care of the Sabaku siblings until their oldest was of age or could take care of them all. So that meant the Uchiha siblings were raised together with the Sabaku ones since they were so young. Which is how Sakura and Sasuke met. So once Fugaku stated he was retiring, Gaara assumed that the position was going to go straight to him, but was disappointed it was going to be an election-"

"And of course, not too far along was Sasuke Uchiha." Concluded Tayuya.

"Eight votes are all they had. So Fugaku made a fare contest about who would acquire the presidency-"

* * *

"- the both of you, placed in front of me a proposition of how to run the company for a year if you were the president. I would like to say that I prefered the conscientious proposition of Gaara because it was the one with the most realistic approach. Even so, Sasuke still won with five to three votes."

"And we all know that if it wasn't because of my sister's vote, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Sakura inhaled deeply, "Look, Gaara, I'm no imbecile. I know Sasuke and I talked about marriage two days before the voting, but we also obviously talked about the presidency situation of the company." Sakura's eyes trailed over to the doors that revealed a seemingly almost more tired Kakashi than before, who went and took his seat silently.

"This moves me," his sarcasm running deep, "What did he tell you? That he would marry you if you voted for him?" He shook his head almost sympathetically, "What a favor he did you there little sister of mine. But I'm sure you wouldn't have stayed single if he had asked for your hand after the election."

"Gaara, that was a deal that Sasuke and I made, one you have no business butting your head into!" Her hand moving away from Sasuke's arm. "Even if he had never asked me to marry him, I never would have voted for you!" Kankuro raised an eyebrow up, but not in surprise and more of amusement, having long time knowledge of his youngest sibling's thoughts. "A thousand and one times, I asked, you can even say I begged you, to become a staff member of this company in more than one occasion and you didn't want to. You even went as far as ignoring my calls to get one of your secretaries to answer and hear that same old rejection speech. But no, you decided, even preferred, to stay with your governing post. Sasuke knows this company, not you! What you know are the checks and balances of this company, the monthly check you receive from it and deposit, and now you come in here asking for a spot you've never even so much as tried to attempt to gain?!"

Shikamaru took out a small pocket note book, opened it one one of the middle pages that had tally marks on it: Sakura and Gaara. And simply put one tally mark on Sakura, and closed it, but decided to not put it away.

"Enough, may we please calm down." People shifted in their seats uneasily for a moment, especially after seeing Sasuke's facial expression of anger.

It was Sasuke's turn to take in a deep breath, "Far above Gaara's sentimental appreciations about the proposition that won me the presidency, I'd say that I won it because of one simple reason. I wanted to turn this company around and increase the amount of sales."

Gaara stayed unfazed as usual, "Of course Sasuke. Everyone will have a Rolls Royce, with a house in Malibu. We'd be without a company in a matter of months, don't you agree, Fugaku?" The older Uchiha just stayed silent, arms crossed over his chest analyzing both of the men's words, even though deep inside he was agreeing with the red head.

"Inside that folder is what won me her vote. It shows everything about the company, from where it is now, to where it can be, and what we need to do to get there. Instead of selling $16 billion, we need to sell $20 billion which enable us to open up two more large factories in Japan, that add more jobs to our economy, and a single location store in the middle of Tokyo that will also help us increase our sales exponentially. If that also goes well, we can start opening more international stores as well."

"And that is where you are wrong, Sasuke. What you are saying is just going to generate an absurd sizing of the company right now. And this puts the company in a situation where it has to invest more and have more debt." Naruto exchanged a knowing look with Kakashi, and both took a respective sip of their cups of water. "Everyone sitting in this table knows that the chances of that happening is low to none-"

The door moved to open and Temari walked in, an amused expression on her face seeing the situation in front of her. Her blond hair was done in two large spiky pony tails, and her face with a simple touch of make up. A long sleeved cream blouse adorned her upper body with a plain brown summer scarf loosely hanging on one side, also matched her brown flats. While a long hunter green skirt stopped a cut right above the knees. She held her dark brown purse against her, and checked her watched.

"I truly am sorry for coming in late, I had a bit of a problem with Sabadell I needed to settle." Temari gave an apologetic bow to everyone, and looked for an empty seat. Her eyes stayed over Shikamaru's form for a split second longer than the rests, quickly finding a seat and sitting down, smiling over to her siblings. Both Gaara and Sasuke internally sighed, calming down slightly because of the little interruption. Mikoto stood up and clapped her hands together, "Well then, how about we have some lunch now that everyone is here. I think it's a good don't you think so?" Not even waiting for anyone to say anything, she called over Ino who came with papers in hand.

"Yes?"

"Please start handing them out. Now everyone, Ino will be handing out what we will be having for lunch today, also please tell her what you would like to have for a drink. As everything is being settled, will you excuse me please? Oh, and Sakura, care to join?" Sakura snapped out of her trance as her name was called, knowing that it was more a demand than anything else. Nodding her head, she followed the woman closely behind.

Temari just stared down at the papers, "Well, I'm guessing I missed a bit, no?" Shikamaru shrugged and Naruto grinned, "Yeah, you could say that. How was your trip Temari?"

"It was alright, although Spain's economy is taking a turn for the worse. Thankfully Greece voted 'No', and it seems Italy isn't too far behind them if they have to declare bankruptcy as well in a few years." The rest of the men nodded in agreement hearing about what was going on in Greece, but happy about the hopeful turn it took. Temari quietly looked over her brother's folder. "This is nicely done, but what is that about raising the sale amount to $20 billion?", her eyes trailing over to Kankuro's form.

Gaara nodded in agreement, "That's what Gaara has been saying", added Kankuro.

"What I've been saying, Temari, is that by reducing the amount of production, we lower the cost of the raw material." The blond shifted her attention over to the new president.

"If you were to re-analyze the proposal, Gaara, you will notice the level of productivity are lowering the costs of raw materials and the protecting growth and new debt is covered in profit shares operated by the premium. Meaning that the company will go from being a $16 billion to a $20 billion one, with a net worth gain of 100%." Temari and Kankuro shared a quick glance, Gaara not budging.

"You can't be serious, Uchiha?" Coal eyes met with emerald ones, Fugaku letting his tone with distate to his family name slide for a moment, more curious about what the red head had to say. "This right here is proof that the decision Sasuke made was one made with the heart, not the brain."

"Gaara!-"

"It's a ticking time bomb, Uchiha!" His hand slammed on the table, shaking the small cups of water in the process, "On my way here I was analyzing the proposal. At first sight, what jumps out is, if compared to last year's prediction sales, they are done horribly wrong, right Kankuro?" At that his older brother had to agree silently, with a nod of the head.

"Than... what is that you would like then, Gaara?" Fugaku asked tone of voice stoic.

"Seeing as everyone took picking Sasuke as their president so seriously, I need to see a revicion of the financial statements from now on a monthly or a quarterly manner, to concur with Sasuke's statements. What Sasuke is implying could literally leave us in the physical ruins."

"I'll show them to you whenever you wish, Gaara. Just as long as you stay out of my way."

Gaara could only smirk. "Let us start in a simple foot then, Uchiha. I want to see your business plan. How you're going to explain your strategy to the banks." Sasuke scoffed under his breath, "Fine, Gaara. You'll have it by Monday."

Shikamaru all of a sudden felt like a little uneasy. His brain starting to work over and over what was being said in exchange between Sasuke and Gaara's words.

Even Fugaku was starting to get a little tired of this, "Then, both of you will meet on Monday with a person or persons you deem convenient to explain the form both of you will be presenting to the board. In conclusion, this is the proposal and promise that Sasuke has set: If at the end of the first year Sasuke has not increased our net worth by 100% and that there is an increase by 4 billion, he will forfeit his position to Gaara no Sabaku."

Sai raised an eyebrow, "But if he does make it?"

"He will stay president of the company for two more years."

"If he doesn't make it, I don't think I'll be that interested running the company." Everyone exchanged knowing looks with each other, Sai trying to keep that same smile up. "All that Sasuke will end up doing is having this company file for bankruptcy by the end of it."

"Gaara, don't you think you should wait until the plans are on the table by Monday, that way you can save your commentary for it." Sakura stated and took her seat with Mikoto not to far behind, the woman looking the same way they did when they left but an air of hostility surrounding them.

"Sakura, I don't think I can." Gaara eyed his sister and tilted his head ever so forward, "I will not let that man play around with this company's money and everyone else."

"Gaara, I ask of you to stop. We can not continue on with the same conversation we always have. It seems that the quarterly papers won't be enough to calm you down, so they will be monthly reports."

Sasuke tried his hardest to control his anger and mentally sighed. He could do this, it wasn't as bad as the jock strap incident with Naruto, and almost nothing was worse than that.

"So be it."

Fugaku continued, "As I was saying, let us continue to the changing over owner ship of the company. I hereby relinquish ownership of Sabaku and Uchiha Fashion over to, my son, Sasuke Uchiha for a year. A heritage that is unsoiled and is free to change. A debt of 49%, which is minimal to most people standards, and without any political and financial problems. Now sign Sasuke, and you will finally be president."

'_Watch Itachi, from this moment on is how I'll run your company to the ground.'_

And once done, a round of applause filled the room, some with smiles, others just dying to leave. Gaara stood up and straighten his suit, "Where are you going, Gaara?" Asked both Mikoto in a curios manner, Temari in a more serious tone.

"Aren't you going to stay for lunch?"

"Pardon me, Mikoto, but I can't." His eyes surveyed his sister's gaze, he could tell she was more than angry about what was going on, "I promised to meet up with lady Tsunade, and take her out for lunch."

Naruto instantly perked up, the half asleep look on his face magically gone. "Oh? Tell her hi for me, Gaara! Also tell her that we can't wait to have her over for dinner next week." That same grin plastered on his face. Even Gaara couldn't help but crack a small smile, and a short nod.

"Uchiha..."

"Sabaku."

Both men gave each other a curt nod and the red head left, leaving the door open so the waiters could come in.

"Oh? Leaving already, hm?" Gaara stopped for a moment to see Ino attempting to talk to him. Meeting her gaze for a split moment, he turned his head back and proceeded on his way, much to Ino's dismay and pout on her face. The mood instantly lightened, and everyone went up to Sasuke to congratulate the man, and in an instant little groups or couple of people were in separate corners talking about different manners pertaining to the meeting that had ended a few seconds ago.

"Sasuke, care to join me for a second?" The man wasted no time and let go of his fiance's hand and moved to a corner of the room, Shikamaru giving Naruto a knowing look as he proceeded to talk with Kakashi on another side.

"Well, fore and for most, congratulations, Sasuke." He smirked and nodded his head, "Thank you, Shikamaru. What did you want to talk to me about? Is it what Gaara was saying about not reaching our goal?"

The other man shook his head in agreement, his eyes traveling towards the cityscape outside, locking on Gaara's car that was headed the opposite direction of where he said he would be going. "I hate to say this Sasuke. But he might be right." Sasuke could only narrow his eyes, "What?"

"During the meeting right now I was looking over the papers and it won't seem like we'll make it. It will be extremely hard for us to reach that goal. maybe if it was a billion or two less we might be able to get there, but four? That could be too much. We have to review our plan of negotiations with banks, and if we make it through Monday, then we'll have to figure out about what we will do about the monthly statements he'll want."

Sasuke's eyes shifted over to Naruto, who in turn gave a nod followed by Kakashi as well.

"Naruto finished explaining it to Kakakashi?"

"Yeah, Naruto spotted something first when he noticed that something could be wrong when Sai looked almost disappointed in the numbers. Brought it to my attention quickly, and that's when Gaara when on about the raise in dollars."

"Hm, so Sai is against changing our textile?"

"He's a 100% type of guy. He doesn't do 70% cotton, 30% polyester."

"It looks like he's going to learn to like it real soon."

"I don't think that will be a good idea either." Sasuke rose an eyebrow, "I need a smoke. And simply because we've been so exclusive and have such a high number of clientele, that we might actually lose more than gain from them. After all, S&amp;U Fashion is known for being high end and catering only to those that truly have money." Sasuke just slowly exhaled hearing those words.

"We'll talk about this later in private." Seeing as how lunch was being served, all of them took back their original seats and began to eat.

"If anyone needs anything, just let one of the waiters know." Commented Ino and stepped out for a moment.

"So," began Sai, "Are you going to forever abandon us, Fugaku?"

The head Uchiha just smirked and shook his head, pouring himself some more sake, "Sadly, no, Sai. I'll be here for any large board meetings, and of course for Sasuke and Sakura's wedding. Sai will you be designing her wedding dress?"

At that Sai actually gave a true smile, "Of course, who else but me? Have you decided on what type of wedding you're having?"

Sasuke stayed silent, eating his lunch in peace while Sakura did most of the talking, "Actually, we haven't really decided yet. There's still a bit of time, sense the wedding will be in September."

"Oh? Congratulations, little sister of mine. Is that what all those missed called I got from you and Kankuro were about?" Sakura sheepishly nodded her head, her cheeks tainted as pink as her hair, to this Shikamaru could only survey the situation and mentally sigh.

"Well, it seems we must be going." Mikoto stood up, followed by Fugaku who took her lead.

* * *

"- raise it by 4 billion dollars?!" Screamed the whole team but Haku to Hinata when she said those numbers.

"Um, y-yes. Or that's what I finished typing in the papers they were presenting today." They ducked under the little sign and started walking back to the company. "Which means they would have to double the profit share." Tayuya shook her head, "No wonder everyone is saying Sasuke won't be able to do it."

"What happens if Sasuke-san doesn't make it?"

"Gaara will probably take over the company for a year until another election is set in place", finished Kin. "Hopefully it goes well for the Uchiha-" they did a swift turn and saw Suigetsu in the distance, "-because if it doesn't, that's the moment I quit. Let's go through the back." No one questioned Kin and just followed her, her words echoing and replaying in all of their heads. Hinata saw the door and decided to speed walk in front and hold it for them, seeing as it was the least that she could do for being treated to lunch.

"I'd h-have to disappear from the face of the Earth. I don't t-think that he likes me..." Her voice started out strong, but trailed to a small whisper by the end. Looking back at them, and not to where she was going, Hinata pushed the door open so hard it slammed roughly against something. The women gasped in shock as Haku's and Kiba's eyes widened into saucers.

"H-huh? What was th-that?" Her eyes met emerald ones for the second time that day and she felt the color from her face drain. Hinata took a step back and aside colliding with the building wall, clearing the walk through for the red head that had a hand to his forehead, she saw it was already starting to form a small bump. This was also the moment she saw the tattoo clearly on his forehead.

"I-I-I-I'm s-so sorry... It was an accident." Hinata tried to calm herself, the stuttering getting worse by the second, especially when his gaze fell on her form and he truly took her appearance in, anger radiated from his very being.

Gaara was absolutely livid. Not only had the meeting not gone as how he wanted, but now this woman had slammed the door against his face. Which also made him question how much strength did she have in those tiny frail hands to push that door so hard. "Not only are you a hindrance to this company and its name..." He took a few steps towards her immobilized form, seeing her shiver from head to toe.

'_She looks like a scared puppy. What exactly are you planning, Sasuke? It's obvious there's something going on with that blond, but what is this woman's purpose_?'

Gaara leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear, "but you are violent as well." And just as fast as he was next to her, he was by Kiba's side, glaring intensely at the dog lover.

"Take me to my car", without a second thought or hesitation, Kiba did as such and disappeared with him around a short corner to the side entrance of the building.

"Oh my Kami..." Tenten covered her mouth, looking over at the girl who hadn't moved so much as an inch, "Are you alright, Hinata-chan?"

She slowly nodded her head, hand cradled against her chest. "Y-yes. I think so." Before she knew it, Haku had placed a gentle hand on her back, "Are you alright, it looked like you were about to have a panic attack." Hinata just shook her head in disagreement, "No no, I'm fine, do not worry, please. It just took me by surprise."

Tayuya had her hands crossed over her chest, "I think it took everyone by surprise. See, it's because of shit like that, that Kin would quit at a moment's notice." Kin silently nodded and glanced at her watch, her eyes narrowing. "Sorry to leave you like this, Hinata, but we have to go clock in. Can't be late, Kakashi is quite the old man when it comes to that."

"And yet he's late every single day", Tenten added and walked in after everyone went through the doors. Once she was away from everyone, walking towards the elevators, she took in deep breaths and exhaled accordingly, this day causing her so much anxiety and tension it felt as if she was being suffocated by it.

She needed to confront them, even if it meant costing her, her job. This feeling of self loathing and aggravation was going to eat her up if she didn't do something.

Coming up to said floor, she stepped out of the elevator to see a scene she wasn't expecting. "-and great job on the form, Ino, I can't wait to see what else you have to put to the plate for the next meeting." Mikoto stated, a gentle and warm hand on the blonde's shoulder, smile on both their faces. Mikoto spotting Hinata first only gave her a curt nod and smiled as she walked past by her with Fugaku who gave her curios glances from the corner of his eyes.

"Hinata."

The young woman turned around so fast she almost lost her balance, but regained in the last moment. "I'll have a word with you later after I'm done with my next short meeting-" Sasuke's eyes didn't budge from Hinata's form, "Ino, I don't want to be disturbed, I'll be with Shikamaru and Naruto in my office." And like that, he left the Hyuga who had a queasy stomach, with her own thoughts. Ino for a moment let her innocent facade fade and sent the Hyuga a smirk, all too amused of the situation.

Hinata Hyuga was pissed.

Glancing around quickly seeing there was no one around she took a step towards Ino, "Ino, so they congratulated you for the form?"

Ino, not backing down from the challenge took it head on, if anything more than amused by the sudden courage the girl possessed, "Ah yeah, about that, they thought it was mine for some reason. They were talking so much that they didn't give me the opportunity to say that I wasn't the one that wrote it, and it was yours."

"The opportunity or the desire?"

Ino rose a thin eyebrow up, "Opportunity, Nagumo-san. Everyone already left so there's not much I can do. So the next time there's a meeting, I'll be sure to tell them it was all you who came up with the idea."

"B-but there's still time to tell Sasuke-san-"

Ino rolled her eyes, "Please, let it go. Didn't I already say that I would inform them that it was you who wrote it next time?

"W-well I don't think that you should wait for such a long time to pass." Hinata stood her ground, small fists tight curled by her sides. Ino started to see the needs of taking of her kiddie gloves with her if this kept up. She gave Sakura a quick glance, who some how managed to be a few feet behind Hinata hearing the exchange. "Well it's gonna have to wai-?"

"What is going on here?" Sakura demanded more than asked, seeing as how that trait was rubbing off on her from Mikoto.

Ino flipped her golden hair to one side and pretended to examine the split ends it didn't have, "Oh nothing, just that Hinata is acting hysterical because they congratulated me in the meeting because of the form I presented. And now she's demanding me to go tell Sasuke that the form was hers and all of that stuff."

'_Ino, damn it...' _Sakura gave her friend a conflicted look, but ended with her attention towards Hinata, "Oh, so you like to cause conflict?"

Hinata turned to face Sakura, her head shaking in disagreement, "No no, it's n-not because I like to cause conflict, it's because I-I made the form and i-it took me a lot of hard work to do it."

"So what you are telling here, Nagumo-san, is that you made this entire form yourself? Because if I'm sure, this was all a group effort. All of those form were handed to you by the people of the board to be put together."

"W-well..." Hinata hesitated for a second, "That is true, but I-"

"But nothing, Nagumo-san. This is something that Ino could have done as well", her eyes narrowed at the girl who didn't budge and she couldn't make eye contact with because of her glasses, "What were you expecting from this, Nagumo-san? That they would ascend you to a higher post? That they would give you a raise, or what?"

Hinata inhaled deeply and somehow managed to hold her tongue, "I just wanted for Sasuke-san to acknowledge my work-"

"Oh, so Sasuke doesn't acknowledge your work?" Sakura pretended to act surprise, still wanting to get the upper hand and not give Hinata a chance to finish, "You act as if this is the only piece of work that you will do for him. This piece of work is so extraordinary and amazing that there is no way that you will be able to replicate it in any way, shape, or form and if you don't then that means that you don't have the ability to do it. If that is the case, then by all means tell me and I'll go to Sasuke, and tell him myself about this."

Hinata felt something inside of her crack, and not out of sadness, but pure and bitter anger. "No, Sakura-san, you will not. I also have the ability to do everything and more than Ino-san can and probably will do!" Ino's eyes widened in shock as she felt her mouth form a large o, Sakura was even taken a bit back, but too held her ground as her hand rested on her hip.

"Well, if that's the case then, Nagumo-san, what's the drama? Let me guess, you want to go to where Sasuke is to make him a big show so that you can pit Ino and I against him because you know he favors you over Ino."

Hinata faltered, "No-no, that's not what I've been trying t-to say at a-all."

"Well, don't you understand that is what you are insinuating? That Ino and I stole your form, and we are taking credit over it, and we say we did all the work when in reality it is a group effort by everyone in the company who handed in their fair share of work as well." Sakura sighed, "This could even turn out into a large scandle where my sibling might get involved with Sasuke's parents."

And that is where Hinata started to worry, the image of Gaara popping into her head causing her to rethink her next choice of words, "N-no! That's not what I'm trying to say at all. I don't wish to cause any fights between the families, all that I want is-"

"Then I don't understand, Nagumo-san. You did a job that no one asked you to do, a form based off of other people's work, is it not true?" Hinata hesitently shook her head, "And you don't want to raise any conflicts between Sasuke, Ino, and I so what I think that you should do, is simply look at it as a piece of work done as a group effort. And when someone works in a team, you can't demand credit, right?"

Hinata bit her bottom lip and mentally sighed, "Alright, I won't say anything to Sasuke-san."

Sakura gave Ino a warning look, making sure her friend wouldn't agitate the situation any more than was needed. "See, now we are getting somewhere. I completely understand that you want to show your abilities, and what you're capable of, ascend to a higher level of understanding, but I want to make sure one thing is clear." Sakura raised her hand, index pointing up, "Secretaries don't get raised to higher positions. Look at Fugaku's old secretary who use to work for him. She was here for as long as he was president and quit the day he did. Now if we're talking about Sasuke's secretary, then it's a different and completely opposite story. It's as if they barely last him. I just don't want you to get any false expectation about anything. So, am I clear Hinata Nagumo-san?"

Hinata nodded her head meekly, "Yes, excuse me.."

Ino watched her walk away and once she was sure that she was far from ear shot she scoffed, "Who the hell died and named her queen?" Sakura started to rub her temples in a slow motion, "Ino, please, you could have said things in a different manner." The blond rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Says the woman who literally pulled all of that out of her ass. I don't know anything about her, but she seemed pretty pissed for some quiet girl."

Sakura sighed and started to rub the back of her neck next, making a mental note to be thankful that the Nagumo girl didn't have much of a backbone, if not she probably would have lost in that petty argument.

"And it seemed to me you got mad at her for speaking the truth about you, Ino-pig." Sakura smirked and Ino pouted.

"Three and a half years in finance school, Sakura. Three and a half. By the way is your brother, Gaara, single, married, or divorced? I think you've told me before but I can't seem to remember." Sakura slowly turned to face her friend, eyeing her as she spoke her words.

"Single."

"Ah, so single, I see. Oh Sakura, you should help a girl friend out and try to set something up with me and your brother. You know, like a date."

Sakura gave her a dead panned look, "A date. With Gaara? What for?"

"What do you mean, for what, silly. I want to get to know him better. He's single, rich, and good looking, definitely the man I'm looking for and need in my life." Ino eyes started to shine from the excitement and the thoughts she was getting.

The pinkette rolled her eyes, "I don't recommend him to you."

"And why not?" Ino crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because no, he's not a simple man."

Ino smirked and in a swift motion moved her head, her pony tail resting over the other shoulder, "It's okay, Sakura, neither am I. It's almost like a goal for me. Come on, Sakura, don't let me down. Do that little gesture of kindness for me." She could only shake her head and try not to laugh, easily being able to imagine the confrontations and conversations between the two personalities.

She'd do it, just to see her friend fall into a grave much deeper than she thought.

* * *

Hinata sat in her chair defeated, almost deflated as her eyes stung with unshed tears, cheeks and ears red as tomatoes. Her eyes landed on her wallet as she grabbed it and examined it from the outside, curios as to how it got there. 'Did I really leave it here? I could have sworn I had put it inside one of the drawers.' Her fingers looked at the credit cards, and ID, all saying her fake name and inside one small pocket a bit of change. Shaking her head from any mischievous thoughts, she put it away. Taking out her cellphone she checked the call logs and blinked away the tears seeing it was Hanabi's name on it and instantly called back.

"He-hello, Hanabi, you called?"

Hanabi had to calm herself before answering the call, not thinking that her sister would be calling back so quickly, "Yeah, I have some big news for you... " She sounded hesitant and quiet, unsure of how to properly start the topic of conversation, "But before that, how's your day been going?"

She took in a deep breath and forced a smile on her face, "Honestly, pretty bad, Hanabi-chan. I think I'm going to quit before they fire me." Hanabi almost dropped the phone on the other line and shook her head aggressively, "N-no! You can't do that nee-chan! You just can't."

"Shh, Hanabi, please. Don't scream, I don't want to disappoint father if he hears you." Saying the word disappointment made the siblings fall into a short silence that only they could understand. "I just messed up everywhere today. Not only did I get in Gaara's way once, but twice, then I disappointed Sasuke-san and he even whats to have a word with me, and got into a scuffle with Ino and Sakura. Things aren't looking well for me here, Hanabi." Hinata's eyes closed, trying yet again to stay strong, "No! Hinata stay strong, don't worry about it, I'm sure that whatever that Sasuke guy wants to talk to you isn't something bad."

Silence fell through the line, "Come on, Hina-chan, cheer up, I'm sure that whatever it is, you can pull through it." Hinata just nodded her head, it was the least she could do for Hanabi's sake. "And wh-what was it that you wanted to tell me, Hanabi?" And then it was the younger's sisters turn to stay quiet. "Uh, Konohamaru had a dream again that he predicted the winning lottery numbers." Hinata stayed quiet for a moment and then burst into a small fit of giggles, not expecting that. There was no way Hanabi would break it to Hinata, at least at the moment, that there were news about Neji circulating around.

"Hinata Nagumo-san, please come out." Asked Sasuke and Hinata almost jumped ten feet in the air, her eyes darting towards the closed door.

"I'll be right out, Sasuke-san! I have to go, Hanabi, I'll talk to you later", and hung up on her little sister before she could say anything. Waving her hands over her face to cool herself down she opened the door and saw more people than she thought she was going to see.

Sitting down on one chair was Ino, the other was empty as she assumed was for her. Meanwhile Naruto finished closing the door and joined Shikamaru on his side looking over some papers, Kakashi on the other side of the room laying down on a small spare leather couch, a small orange book on his hand. Sasuke sat by his desk, waiting for her to take a seat, once Hinata did, he began.

"Ex-excuse, Uchiha-san, but didn't you say that you wished to speak to me, well, before having any other meeting?"

Ino gave Hinata a sly side glance, "And didn't you tell me that I should make sure no one interrupt you?"

"I changed my mind. There's something I need to speak to both of you about." Ino tensed as Hinata blinked, wondering if he did indeed notice what had happened. Kakashi on the other hand, just flipped to another page and giggled to himself.

* * *

So, do tell, what do you think? I know this chapter was slow, but I feel it was good. And don't worry, our cute little Hinata-chan will be back up on her feet and karma will come for Ino sooner or later.

Some GaaHina KakaHina fluff? If you even want to call it that. Maybe a hint of it?

((By the way in Spanish, 'utilidades', literally translates to English as 'Utilities'. Although it can also be translated to, 'profit quota' I believe. Pardon me if all my financial and economic terms are used incorrectly. All in all, I am no finance or economics major, so pardon me. I did try and do some research, though ; _ ;. ))

Thank you for reading guys, stay tuned for the next chapter!

The Count, Kennedy.


	8. Chapter 8: You're Fired, Right?

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? Hopefully great. I update a lot sooner than I thought simply because this chapter wrote itself quite easily. Not to mention I also felt pretty bad making you guys wait two months for an update. I really wish sometimes I could be as great as those people who update every three days or weekly. I think I just got lucky in this chapter, but maybe my luck won't run out.

-wiggles eyebrows suggestively-

The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 8: You're Fired... Right?**

"Before I get into that, we need to make a new plan of negotiations. To do so," Sasuke turned his attention over to Ino, as much as he didn't like to, "I need the original copies of each of the departments and the proposition."

"Ah.. H-ah, the original forms?"

The blonde placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, somehow getting a worse idea of where this is going. "I... I left them in Nagumo-san's office. I thought it would be safer there considering that Sakura- hah, sorry about that, I meant Nagumo-san, was the one that would be archiving them into the system." Sasuke stayed silent, his eyes trailing over to Kakashi's form that seemed to not be paying attention to them. An idea popped into Hinata's head and slowly stood up, "Excuse me, I'll bring them now." With a curt nod, Sasuke watched her go off, feeling something extremely off about the whole situation present before him.

Having the original and final form in his hand, Sasuke flipped through them briskly, "Shikamaru, Naruto, and I need to make this form into a functioning work plan, a true plan of negotiation. To do so, you both need to help me because this needs to go through Gaara and then the banks. If we get Gaara, then no one stands in our way and all we need is to get the credit that we need." Hinata tilted her head up, slightly, "It is more than do-able. The plan of negotiation needs to seem more than real, like it is the only possible route for these banks to take", added Shikamaru at the last second, "We need to know which one of you girls can handle it."

"So, what your saying... is that you need to change the form into a working plan?"

Sasuke sighed internally, "Yes, Ino, glad to see you managed to get the concept of it. I also need for that to show on the balance sheet of the company, with of course the new information that each department brought up."

Ino hesitated for a split moment, glancing over to the Hyuga. "I think that she can do it", and pointed over to Hinata who in turn didn't acknowledge her presence, but gave a small smile. "Actually, I believe Yamanaka-san can handle this one, considering that she did the last form so easily and it came out so well." Shikamaru tried to withhold a smirk, while Sasuke was trying to figure out what was going on between the two woman.

"Well, Ino. It seems like you have another opportunity to prove your intelligence. By when do you think you'll have the paper ready?"

Ino now truly felt uncomfortable in the situation, the tables turning a little too smoothly for her taste. "I don't know, like, maybe a week."

Sasuke looked up from the folder and shook his head, "That would be nice, if it wasn't for Gaara. I need it for the day after tomorrow. My brother-in-law states that there are a few... figures, that don't really add up. Shikamaru, Naruto and I need to see them, evaluate them, and maybe if needed-adjust it. It's not that hard, Ino. All you need to do is upgrade and project the figures."

Naruto tilted his head, "There shouldn't be a problem, ne, Ino? Besides didn't you do about three years of Finance in school?" Ino closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, why did that idiot always have to butt in on her in the worse moments.

"Yes, Uzumaki. You are right." She practically spoke through her teeth as Naruto only sent her a grin, unknown to him how much discomfort he was giving her. "Then you better hurry up, or Sasuke's gonna' have your ass if you turn it in late." Ino just decided to not even reply to him, turned around and left. Seeing as there was a chair now available, Naruto took a seat and smiled over to Hinata, "Hey, Hinata-chan, you're-?" And like that she too excused herself and left all them together.

"What's up with her?" Naruto questioned staring at the door that was blocking his view of her. No one answered his question, "Don't you think something is up, Sasuke?" The young Uchiha sighed and turned to face Kakashi, who was now behind him looking over his shoulder and down at the forms. "Yeah, Hinata-chan is acting weird, even Ino seemed a little strange." Shikamaru sighed and tried not to face palm, "I think, Kakashi was talking about the figures, not Ino and Hinata."

"Oh, well that too as well, Shika."

"Honestly, Naruto, how did you even manage to graduate with a masters?"

With a dead pan look, cerulean eyes stared at the Nara head, "I look damn sexy as a girl, Shikamaru."

As time rolled by, and night came Hinata tapped her index finger on a small box, her other hand massaging her temple. If she wanted her plan to work, she needed to do everything on time. Fixing her back and reaching for the door, it opened on its own and leaning against the frame was Sasuke Uchiha, "Hinata." Taking a step back to regain her personal space she only ended up looking down, "Uchiha-san..."

"First names, Hinata. First names."

She quickly nodded and stayed silently still.

Sasuke took a step forward, and she took one back. The charades kept up until Hinata's back hit the desk and she was forced to place her hand on the wooden surface to regain her balance, instantly looking up at a face filled with amusement and curiosity. It truly just made her stomach churn and cause a nauseating feeling.

"Hinata."

"Sasuke-san..."

"Be honest with me. Who wrote that plan." She stayed silent, she was going to make sure Ino wouldn't try to touch her work again, "I'm sure, that when Yamanaka-san shows you the report, you'll be certain that she made the plan." Sasuke slightly frowned, unsure about how to feel about her words. Dropping the subject, he took a step back, turned around and left. Passing through his office, he pixked up his jacket to leave.

* * *

Sakura strolled over to her friend's desk and blinked, "Ino?" The blond woman in front of her looked like she was about to have a panic attack, not to mention her usual clean and organize desk was littered with papers and folders. "Aha, well, is Sasuke still there?" Ino just nodded, fingers typing away at a screen that didn't seem like it was going to be filled up anytime soon. "And what exactly are you doing, Ino?"

"A plan of negotiations that Sasuke asked me to do based on the form that I made, and a few other things."

Sakura perked up, genuinely happy for her friend, "That's great Ino! I'm so happy for you. He's finally giving you the attention that you needed-" Sakura saw her friend's face and could feel her anger starting to boil. "Ino..." The blonde stayed silent, "Ino...", and again nothing. "You're not going to be able to do it, are you?" The pinkette almost started to worry a bit more than she needed.

"It's not that easy, Sakura..."

"Oh my Kami, are you serious, Ino?" Her arms crossed over her chest, a frown on her features, "You practically made me steal the damn form from the ugly duckling, for what? So that you could demonstrate your capabilities to do such tasks! Hell, you even threw at my face your line of three and a half years of Finance." Ino scoffed, wondering why everyone was starting to use that against her, "Well anyways, its three and a half years, Sakura. And it's been a while I finished anyways... I barely remember how to finish this." She practically whined.

"Then why did you make Sasuke such a promise?" Her hands were running through her pink locks, "Because that imbecile of an ugly duckling told Sasuke that she wouldn't do it," By now Ino was standing and meeting eye to eye with her childhood friend, "And that I should do it seeing as how I knew so well the previous form and that it went so well for me in the conference." The blonde's body leaned back against the wall, "She literally threw me under the bus. And the worse part is that I have two days to finish it."

"Well... you can't look bad. You need to find someone who can help you."

Ino perked up at the notion, "Oh? Who?"

"How should I know, Ino? What I do know is that it has to be someone who you know and can trust because you can't be giving out those figures to just anyone." Ino smirked, "And if I give them to your brother, Gaara, Sakura? He's someone we can trust, and he knows about finances." The pinkette didn't know what she did her past life to deserve this, "You can even call him, tell him I'll be going over to his apartment and-"

"Ino, are you insane? How could you possibly insinuate such a thing?" Now Sakura needed to take a seat, "That would be like causing World War III between Gaara and Sasuke, especially over such a trivial and stupid subject. If Sasuke for whatever reason where to find out that Gaara saw those figures that aren't disposable to him, he would strangle you. Not to mention that Gaara wouldn't do such a favor for you, you know." They both sighed at the same time, but for very different and distinct reasons.

"Don't mean to interrupt, but you're Ino Yamanaka, correct?" Behind them stood Kiba, such an un-amused expression on his features that even he wanted to cut the chit chat. Ino glanced him over up and down quickly, not liking what he was saying, "Yes?"

"Sorry for the delay, but these are for you. Thank you for your time." Handing her the mail, she accepted them and watched him leave shortly after, "Weird guy. Hm, whatever." Tearing one open she inspected the content and almost died, "Oh no, oh no, oh no no no no! This can't be happening." Sakura, too surprised by her friend's reaction demanded an explanation, "What is it, Ino?!"

"I'm two months behind on one of my credit cards and they're not letting me use it anymore." Sakura took a deep breath and tried to calm down yet again as she watched her friend open the other two letters that came in for her, "Oh no, I haven't paid my cars quota in three month's either. If I don't find a way to pay for next month's payment, they're going to tow it. And what's is this?" She picked up the last mail and had to sit down for a moment, "It's from the Country Club, Sakura. What do I do? They won't even let me in anymore because I haven't paid them in over six months. Is there no way Sasuke can give me a paycheck in advance?"

"Come on, Sakura. Don't give me that look of pity mixed with disappointment, you know how much I hate that look."

"We... we'll try to figure something out later, Ino. Just finish Sasuke's report first and then we will try to see how we can fix your issue up."

"This is horrible, Sakura, horrible. I'm going to need to find a husband who can take me out of my miserable poor ruins soon or the only thing that will be left will be my own ruins. If this keeps up, I'll really just end up with any type of man with decent amount of money in his pocket." Rolling up some of the papers, she smacked Ino lightly on the head with it, "Stop talking such stupidities, Ino. You have a thousand and one options, you're just choosing to be picky."

"Oh yeah, sure. They're all soo great," her sarcasm dripping from every word, "that none of them would want something serious with me. I need a man, and something stable, not some one night stand, or partying it up like I was 16. You know... who actually comes to mind?"

Sakura rose an eyebrow, "Oh? Who?"

"Shikamaru Nara", Sakura sighed and tilted her head back. There was something about this friendship with Ino that she couldn't let go off, and she needed to find it quickly again, if she didn't want to end up becoming a murderer. "No, Ino. Bad choice."

"I've seen the way he looks at me-"

"Ino... no. Please, just stop. That is not a path you want to go down through." '_Not to mention my sister will skin you alive if you think you might even have a chance with him.' _"You probably have a better chance with Naruto than anyone."

"Now that you mention it-"

"Oh please, Ino. Naruto like anything with a feminine voice and big boobs. Half the time he doesn't even know the girls that like him, but when he does, there's very little those woman can do to escape his charm."

"But... he's single, right? And an auctioneer of this company, no?"

"Ino, we are talking about Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki. A guy who is so dense, most girls needed to confess to him to get his attention than anything. A guy like him, doesn't want to settle down, especially after finding out what he has to offer to the world. If I didn't know him any better, I'd say he sees woman as a game that he will take to bed, and wait for him naked, but he'd never take them down the aisle and in a wedding dress."

"But he can help me with the report." Ino stated in a coy sing along voice that sent shivers down Sakura's back. "Of course, Ino, and Sasuke would tell you didn't do it in a seconds notice."

"That would depend."

"Really now? And on what?"

* * *

Right as Sasuke was about to leave his office Naruto and Shikamaru came in, desperate looks on their faces. "Oi, Sasuke, you better sit down for this. Good thing we caught you before you left." Sighing, he agreed and took back a seat, but not before taking off his coat again. "What happened?"

Naruto laid the form in front of him, and Shikamaru quickly took over, "Naruto noticed that there was a small problem in the numbers, but couldn't figure it out. Once I looked it over I realized the interest expense is not growing at the speed of the investment we are doing, do you know why?" Sasuke's eyes slowly widened in realization, but Hinata instantly noticed and knew why as she over heard the conversation behind the door.

"Correct, Uchiha. The new interest rates aren't being shown in any of the papers we presented in the company, we didn't contemplate them so they ended up skew our results."

"Why didn't we notice this before, Nara?" Sasuke questioned as he interlaced his fingers together, trying to think of a strategy, "Because ,unlike both of your secretaries who majored in Finance Sasuke, we majored in business and dual minored in Economics and Speech."

"So does that mean we should have asked Kankuro for help-"

"No. We won't do that." All eyes landed on the Uchiha, "We might as well be working with Gaara if that was the case, for all we know they could be having the same conversation as we speak."

"Our best option then would be to recognize our mistake and ask for some time, to try to get all of this done in a clean manner."

"No, we will not do that either. There is no mistake that we need to rectify, we will not give Gaara that pleasure, and I won't be ridiculed in front of everyone either. I will not be serving my head on a silver platter for Gaara to do as he wishes with it." Shikamaru sighed and reached into his pocket, playing gently with the tip of the cigarette box, "Uh, well, it's been a long day, so I'm sure Sasuke is cranky. Why not just go home and tomorrow we talk about this?"

Even Shikamaru had to agree that was the best course of action, "Tomorrow morning we'll get here early and analyze the plan then. We'll need to figure something out to not place Sasuke's head on display for the world to see. I have some business I need to attend to, so Naruto come on time so by the time I get back, I can do about the rest."

"Where are you going?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in return to the glare Sasuke had sent him, "Extended meeting with Shino, textile revision. It's my turn this time since Naruto went last time."

"Hm, just make sure no one else knows about this."

"Geez, Sasuke, you're so tense, you're making me tense. I say you need to distress, come and have a drink with me." Sasuke just sighed and stood up, grabbing his coat yet again while he ignored Naruto's suggestive elbow moves and wiggling eyebrows, "The source of my stress are those woman out there waiting for me." Shikamaru smirked and moved out of the way, "And how is your flirting going with Ino, Naruto?"

"Oh, you know, I give her a compliment, she ignored me. The daily exercise."

"If you keep that up, you might just get some muscles." By the end of Shikamaru's words, Sasuke left first to greet his wife, and he 'friend'. "Oh, hey hon. Ready to go?" He gave a curt nod, "Ino, I have some news," the blond perked up, "I won't need the report for the day after tomorrow anymore." Ino literally looked like a new woman and seven years younger, even Sakura was starting to feel relived, "I'm going to need it for tomorrow morning." Both woman tensed up and Ino paled a little.

Shikamaru passed by and over heard a little part of the conversation, not that he had anything against Ino, but he still had some investigating to do, "Don't put such a dramatic face, Ino, what's the problem? If you were able to do such a well written report like last time, with the general balance, and Sasuke's proposition as well, this should be a walk in the park for you."

"Yup, sounds like a piece of cake, Ino-chan." Naruto stated in the background heading towards the elevators, "Even I could do one."

"Tomorrow morning, early, both of you." Was the last thing Sasuke said before he left an exasperated Ino. Sakura could only send her a small text with an apology in it. "Oh no, oh no. What am I going to do-"

"Good night, Yamanaka-san." Spoke Hinata in a soft but determined voice, a large smile gracing her features, "I hope you have a lovely time." And without taking a glance back, she went into the other elevator, the last image she saw before the doors closed was an angry Yamanaka glaring back. Stepping out of the elevator with Lee on the phone she spotted before the entrance of the company, Naruto and Kakashi seeming to be having quite the heated discussion, from a first glance. "That's right, Lee, in my house in 20 minutes. Don't be late, it's s-super urgent", and quickly hung up the phone.

"Huh?" Naruto shifted his vision over to where Kakashi was staring and beamed, "Ohayo, Hinata-chan", and finished with an enthusiastic wave, as the silver haired man gave a smile behind the mask. Slowing down, Hinata gave a curt bow, "Where ya' off to in such a hurry? Going on a date?" Hinata's eyes widen at the blond's teasing words, but after today's up and down she didn't even mind it, "Am I that easy to read? Excuse, and g-goodnight..." Without looking back, yet again, she left the blond with a look of bewilderment on his features, mouth hanging open.

"Ka-Ka-Kakashi! Did you hear that?!" Back at the reception area Tenten grinned to herself, even if she didn't know what her new companion had said, if it made Naruto give such a reaction it must of had been good. "Well, that's good for her." Naruto puffed his cheeks, arms crossed over his chest, a look of curiosity in his eyes as they kept a trail on her form that disappeared on the distance. "Yeah, but who is the problem." Kakashi's one eyed stared at Naruto in a quizzical manner, "You have a problem with that, Naruto?" The blond paused, and gave his former mentor a funny look, unable to properly explain what he was feeling.

"Hello boys, lovely night, no?" Ino managed to say behind them, having witness the whole thing. Kakashi didn't need a hint and coughed into a closed fist, "It seems I have something I need to attend to, if you'll excuse I'll be on my way. Goodnight."

Naruto rose an eyebrow up in the air, "Huh? Got some old lady to help cross the street?"

Kakashi smiled and took his little orange book out, "No, just going to meet Hinata-chan for our date." Naruto's mouth hung open once again as he stared as his sensei leaving, laughing to himself as well, on the other note, Ino wasn't amused by the little joke. Staring at Naruto she realized that the man wasn't half bad in looks department. Sure, when they were young he wasn't the cutest guy around and his obnoxious attitude was a killer on him, but now that he had fully grown up, Naruto was quite the charmer. Especially those ever sparkling blue eyes of him and that toned body. '_Yup, we'd definitely have cute babies together.' _Ino thought with a giggle, the image making her laugh but she knew better considering that Naruto wasn't her type.

"Can you believe that Kakashi, Ino?" Ino rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip, "Yeah, well whatever, anyways, Naruto, I was wondering," she leaned in a bit, a hand resting on his arm, "If you would like to spend some time with me tonight?" The blond was a little weary about the words being spoken to him, but it's not like he was going to pass up on such a chance either, "And how much time are we talking about here, Ino-chan?" He leaned in just a little, his smile increasing."

"Oh well, you see, it's that our little president assigned me a task, so maybe 30 minutes", and she paused for dramatic effect, "Or the whole night if you manage to help me with the new plan he asked." Naruto blinked, instantly seeing the catch, but realizing how easy it would be to do it.

"Of course, hell, I'll even help you with your non-existent kids if you want." Ino slightly blushed feeling as if he had read her previous thoughts, but pushed them to the back of her mind.

"Don't push it, Uzumaki. Let' s get this report done first." He grinned and let her take the lead, he liked looking at her from behind anyways. Tenten having witness the whole thing sighed and shook her head in dismay, took out her phone and sent in a group chat: '$20 Ino is going to come in 30 minutes late tomorrow with Naruto.'

Tayuya simply replied with, '$50 and an hour late.' Tenten smirked, liking where this was going and Kin finished with, '$45 and an hour and ahalf late.'

Finally arriving to Ino's apartment, Naruto couldn't help but be amazed at it, everything was clean and organized, it screamed 'chic modern furniture collection' no matter from where you looked at it. For being a tiny apartment, it was quite spacious. When you entered what first hit you was the strong scent of hydrangeas, with a hint of honey-suckle in the air. The the walls were painted a cream color that made a nice contrast with the dark hardwood floors. The door opened to a narrow hallway that lead to the living room were there was a large gray sofa facing the wall and two other chair on either side facing the other, a beige carpet under it all. The tv was hanging from the wall and under it was a white, small rectangular book shelf filled with all types of magazines and books. On top of it was a thin and narrow pot the same dimension as the book shelf that was over flowing with hydrangeas. To the left of it was a small kitchen that met all the simple requirements and a wooden table for two. Then in another hallway there were three doors, Naruto guessed it was the bedrooms and baths.

"Whoa Ino, this place is nice."

Ino tilted her head and smirked, "Well of course, I did design it myself." He assumed as much, but something was irking the male blond. "How are you paying for all of this, Ino? Didn't you say you came from Spain a few months ago after your divorce with Choji?"

"Choji said he still cared about me, so he wanted me to be happy and said he was going to pay for this place until I could afford to do it myself." For a second, a split minuscule second Ino felt horrible, saying such things about her ex-husband, and what she thought at those time was the love of her life.

'_Choji_', Naruto narrowed his eyes thinking of his old friend. He knew he wouldn't mind, Choji had his eyes set on another woman long before Ino ever came into the picture. He would have almost felt bad sleeping with his ex wife, if well, she wasn't so willing to give it up and Choji wouldn't have been so excited to get a divorce from her as well. '_Marriages are weird, this is why I'm not getting married any time soon.' _He thought, an image of Sakura popping into his head came up and quickly went away.

Ino instantly snapped out of it and turned around smiling at him, "So, Naruto, want a drink?"

Naruto grinned back and nodded his head, "Hell yeah, but how about you stay and I take care of it?" Ino stared at him but decided to not say anything.

"By the way Ino, I have these herbs from Jiraiya that I've been meaning to use, he said they work great with alcohol-"

"That sounds fishy," Ino began, studying the herbs that Naruto pulled out of his pocket in a zip-log bag. "I've never heard of any herbs that you can mix with alcohol. Where exactly did that pervert find this?" Naruto lolled his head to the side thinking hard, "I think he said it was somewhere on one of his journeys to Korea."Ino still wasn't buying, "What's the name of it"

Naruto laughed, "I have no idea, he gave it to me and said with would be great with any drink." Ino just sighed, atleast hoping to read up on it before putting it in anything. "Did he tell you how to use it?" The blond nodded ferociously, "Aha, he said to drop a few bits of it into the drink and take small sips."

Ino opened the bag and smelled the contents, quite surprised and pleased as the scent of mint and sandalwood hit her, "And what exactly is this suppose to do to the drink?" Naruto grinned, "He said it's suppose enhance the flavor of the drink, and make it seem stronger than what it is." Both of them stayed silent for a moment, wondering if they should really do it, well Ino more than Naruto.

"I don't know, Naruto."

"Oh come on, please Ino? Sasuke hate's tea, Gaara too, especially ginger and anything related to herbs, not to mention Sakura won't trust me after the jock strap incident and Kakashi and Shikamaru are in the same boat. I just don't wanna try it alone."

'_Think of the report, Ino. Think of the report... What's the worse than can happen? It tastes bad_?'

"Fine. Just one drink though, then we have to go and start on the report." Naruto grinned and pulled a hand around her waist, "Of course, and then we can get to my favorite part." Ino's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he let her go and went into her kitchen. Not questioning it, Ino set up on the small table for two and placed all the paper work around neatly. By the time she had finished, Naruto came back without his coat and some almost clear liquid inside two glass cups. From what Ino could observe, the little herbs were evenly divided between the two cups.

"Here ya' go." Ino didn't question it, trusting Naruto. He might be a playboy and an idiot, but Kushina had raised him a decent man and new that Naruto would kill himself before drugging anyone to take advantage of them, "Thanks." She muttered under her breath and mentally prepared herself. Both made eye contact and took a small sip, each equally surprised with the result.

"It tastes good!" Both stated at the same time, "It tastes strong, but it doesn't burn by throat. Is this whiskey, Naruto?" The blond nodded, taking another sip, " Aha, it was the only thing I could find." Both exchanged a look of amusement and kept their drinks closed in hand. As a few minutes passed of talking, Naruto tilted his head to the side and glanced at Ino weirdly, "Hey Ino, how come you have so much blush on?" Ino just looked at him with an equally weird expression, "Huh, what are you talking about, Naruto. You look a little red, and you're sweating?" For some reason the blond couldn't tell. He looked down and noticed what she was saying and with a calm and passive tone agreed, "Yeah, you're right." He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and placed it lazily by his side, and Ino didn't seem to care, also feeling hot as well. She took of her shirt without a second thought and tossed it to the side.

"Naruto..." Her voice mellow, eyes starting to glaze over as she stared at the ceiling, "Yeah? " He did the same except now he was laying down, completely calm and almost silent, "How much did you put in our drinks?" By then Naruto had fallen asleep, half of his drink discarded on the table wetting some of the papers. Ino saw the incident happen, but couldn't and didn't feel like moving, face passive and calm.

"Huh, it got wet."

And before she knew it, her drink slipped from her finger tips and onto the hard wood floor, her body falling, to what it seemed like to her, down slowly. Her eyes struggled to stay open, despite Naruto's loud snores in the background, "What-what did y-you give us, Naruto..." And like him, she too fell into a deep deep sleep that they couldn't wake up from.

On the other side of the world in Brazil, Jiraiya sneezed and looked around confused. Shrugging he walked over to his collection of tea bags and counted them once more, remembering the one he gave to Naruto.

"Hm..."

He counted again and again and again and something didn't add up. "Where is it?" Shuffling a bit more, the older man blinked and looked at the bag of tea herbs he had in his hand and inhaled sharply. If he had that, then it only meant that Naruto got...

"O-oh... boy."

He looked out the window out side, seeing the sun was starting to shine, "I hope Naruto hasn't used 'that' just yet. I'll call him in the morning if anything." Jiraiya mentally sighed, but laughed it off in the end. Either he gave Naruto the wrong herbs, or Naruto took the wrong ones he told him to take.

* * *

Hinata barged into her own home and opened the door to look at Hanabi, who had a more than worried expression on her face, "Hina-nee, you're home? Are you okay? Lee's here waiting for you."

"Hinata-chan, hello, it has been a while since I have last seen-"

"Lee not now, we must hurry, go to my room and we'll talk about this as you fix the paper work."

"Ay eye, captain!" Saluting Hinata in a playful gesture, he took her bag that was heavier than he expected and ran to her room, "Hanabi-chan, is father home?" The shorter girl shook her head in disagreement, saying that he had stepped out for a moment because Ko had come to visit.

"I see..." She stayed silent and thought about her word, "Are you going to quit, Hina?" Hinata stared at her sister and gave her a small smile, "Actually, I think I'm going to stay..." Hanabi beamed with happiness, wrapping her arms around her older sister tightly the separation they had in their younger years becoming smaller and smaller as time passed by. "Hinata, but why is Lee here?"

"Well, long story short, we have a report to do for tomorrow morning." Hanabi looked at her sister, "Huh?" Hinata smiled back, "The other secretary stole my report, so I thought I'd get her back by letting her do this next one that's a little harder than the last-"

"-But you know she wont be able to do it so you'll show up saving the day and then you'll be the hero again!" Hanabi interrupted her sister with a huge smile on her face jumping up and down enthusiastically for her, so happy that she could have a chance to redeem herself because of Ino's mishap. "That's genius, Hina-chan. Where did you get the idea from?" Hinata herself, too was surprised by her own actions, "Oh, some vice presidents of the company." Hanabi just shrugged, not really remembering at the moment whom she was talking about.

"Yeah yeah, you go Hina." With one more smile, she pushed her sister along, "Go hurry, it seems like it's going to be an all nighter." Hinata nodded her head and giggled, "I'll bring you guys something to eat in a bit." Hinata started to speed walk to her room when she heard the groaning of Lee in the background, "Alright, thank you, Hanabi-chan."

"Ah wait, Hina-chan, what do I do if father comes?" She paused for a moment, "Just tell him that, doing a report for tomorrow." Hanabi nodded her head and left, looking at the clock in the kitchen, "9:30 pm. Come on, Hina, you can do it."

Back in the room, Lee had already organized all the paper into separate stacks, and was furiously reading through some of them. At moments like these, Hinata was glad being friend with the truly kind man, she couldn't even but help think that whoever this guy married, she'd be cared for an happy for the rest of her life. Maybe be they would be really tired because of how enthusiastic Lee was, but happy none the less.

"Alright Hinata-chan, from what I got from the message and the texts was that we needed to make a report based the last one with the new increments that Sasuke- Sasuke right- wanted?" Hinata nodded her head in agreement. "That's right Lee, so we have to work together if we want to be able to do this in one night. Normally I'd be able to do it, but I didn't want anyone to know I was working on it while at work."

"About that, Hinata-chan, I was looking over your previous plan and I see what you mean about that costs and percentage. Tell me, are you worried more about Sasuke or the company?"

Hinata paused her calculation, looking down at the paper, "Both, to be honest. I don't want anything bad to happen towards Sasuke-san either." Both grinned at each other and stayed silently, well as silent as Lee could be, working. Once the sun was starting to show Hinata cracked her back and rubbed her eyes, taking the contacts off and letting them breath. Looking over her to left she tried to suppress a giggle at the sight of a sleeping Lee murmuring gibberish about the stock market and values.

Not wanting to wake him up, she placed a blanket over him and a pillow under his head, the man, "Good bye, Lee, thank you for everything." She gave him one last smile and left the room with a Hanabi waiting in the kitchen, "Hina-chan, you're running late, want to get breakfast on the go?"

"Sorry Hanabi, I can't. Did father ever arrive?" She muttered as she kept on walking and preparing herself to leave. Hanabi shook her head, "No, but he did call and say he was going to stay with Ko-san for a bit longer, something came up that they needed to finish discussing." Hinata stayed silent and nodded her head, a simple wave later and she was out the door managing to get to the last bus and quickly getting off on her stop. Glancing at the time, a shiver was sent down her spine fearing she wouldn't make it in time, and to top it off she tripped over her own feet, papers flying everywhere and her body landing on the pavement.

"Ow-ow, wh-what?" She looked down and only blamed her clumsy self for a second until she noticed her glasses on the floor, a look of despair running across her features.

"Oh, no... oh, no." _'How could I let this happen_?" She thought bitterly, looking down at her glasses that were missing a leg. She didn't need it to see, but it helped for the disguise.

"Hey, do you need a hand?" Asked a man, snapping her out of her own thoughts, while not even waiting for an answer and helped her up regardless. She shyly looked away from him, not wanting him to see her eyes, while giving him a silent thank you. Picking up one of the papers from the ground his eyes narrowed slightly, but stayed silent. "This is yours too?" she nodded her head, glasses now on her face still managing to cover her ever beautiful eyes.

"Y-yes, thank you.."

His glanced at her from the corner of his eye and tilted his head to the side, confused at what he was seeing, but also amused. "Your leg, are you sure you're alright?" Confused, the bluette looked down and realized her hunter green skirt had ripped a little and there were spots of red all over the area, now that he mentioned it her knee even started to hurt. Keeping in the pain, she turned around and finished picking up the last trails of papers that were left around and gave the man one last bow.

"Th-thank you, I really appreciate it. But I must be going, goodbye." '_He seemed really nice_.'

And like that, Hinata left the tall man standing there by himself, his eyes never wavering from her from. Turning around, he spotted another familiar face, and walked over toward him. "Hey, what are you doing around these parts?"

Hinata walked into the company and took a deep breath in, a few minutes late, so it shouldn't be that bad. By now limping, she made her way over to Tenten who gave her a curios look. "Hey Hinata-chan, good morning. Here are Sasuke-san's letters, and are you alright? You look a bit worn out..." Hinata just gave a light nod, hopping that no one would see her eyes, "Y-yes, I'm fine Tenten-chan. Thank you. I'll see you around lunch then." The brunette nodded her head, watching her friend limp. Taking out her phone she looked at the time and then at then at the door, not an Ino or Naruto in sight. '_Those idiots better come here soon, I don't want to lose!_'

* * *

Kin sighed, not sure how she got into this situation, but some little voice deep in the back of her mind told her not to place any bets because karma was going to go and end up biting her in the ass. Sasuke Uchiha, the man in front of her, has been glaring at nothing in particular, but talking more than his usual 10 words per hour if it wasn't about the company. Although, she could understand where he was coming from, seeing as neither of his two secretaries were there, Naruto wasn't present either, and Shikamaru was busy as he had stated.

"So Naruto isn't picking up, either?" She shook her head, "No sir, the only other places I could think he would be in, would be in places only you know." Sasuke mentally sighed, "Go back to your desk, and when that degenerate of vice president arrives, tell him to call me. Whether it is you or Tayuya, I do not care. And while you're at it, find me a secretary because neither one of them has arrived-?"

At that same moment Hinata came in, taking Kin by surprise, especially with the injury she had suffered, "I'm so so-sorry I'm late. I -!"

"Oh? Don't you know that we start work at 8 on the dot?"

"W-well yes, but I was just- you see... I just needed to." Hinata bit her bottom lip, trying t manage to muster the words to the man who was now standing in front of her while waving Kin away, who in turn didn't even hesitate. "Did you wake up sick?" She shook her head in disagreement, "Did someone in your family die?" She shook her head once more, now looking down, scared that if she made eye contact with him, he'd somehow look through the reflection and notice her eyes, "So a police officer stopped you? Did the bus crash, did anything remotely important happen Hinata-_san_?" She shook her head once more, feeling almost frightened by his words, why did he look and seem so angry, even long before she came in.

"No, Sasuke-san, what I'm trying to say-"

"I don't want to hear it, Hinata." His eyes narrowed when he saw her mouth shut tightly closed, "Go into your office, and find the idiot of a secretary Ino Yamanaka and the imbecile of a vice president, Naruto Uzumaki, no matter where they might be and ask them where the hell they are." His tone serious, every word barely above a whisper. Hinata could only keep her thoughts to herself as she decided it would be best to just let the Uchiha calm down and wait for a better moment. And like that Hinata went back to her own room and started dialing all numbers that they could possibly be in. Looking at watch, the time had passed to 10:30 and neither of them were present, and it was most noticeable when Sasuke kept coming in to see if she had managed to get in contact with them.

Hinata just sighed and looked at the folder beside her, then down at her knee. The stinging pain wasn't going away and she tell there were probably some little pebbles stuck to her skin. For the first time, she pulled her skirt up past her knees and examined the minor scratch that still gushed a bit of blood. Gently blowing on it, her eyes glanced at the items back on her desk- "Hinata, anything yet?" The voice surprised her so much she jumped up and hit the table with the same scraped knee, earning a yelp from her and knocking over a small flower vase that spilled water all over the desk, but thankfully not the area that had folders and electronics.

Sasuke finally came in and stared blankly at the clumsy woman standing up, a hand on her knee, and the desk wet. He could only mentally ground in displeasure and sigh, "Clean that up", and closed the door again. The awkward moment only made Hinata blush, she didn't think she'd be able to handle it if he were to look at her and something would happen with her glasses.

"Sasuke... I'm here." Hinata froze for a split second once she heard the blond's strong voice, and then leaned in a bit closer to the door, listening in on the conversation.

"Oh, well, if it isn't Naruto Uzumaki..." Naruto and Hinata gulped, knowing that tone of voice was anything but friendly, "It's 10:35 Naruto. And do you know since when I've been waiting for you?" Naruto could only shove his hands in his pocket, "Yeah yeah, I know, It's just that I-"

"I nothing, Naruto. We agreed we'd meet up today to work on this because Gaara and half of the company is breathing down our throats about my plan."

"Well yeah, but sleep caught up with me and I couldn't wake up." Sasuke just stared at him like he would stare at any of his annoying fan girls, with annoyance. "It was nothing special." Sasuke frowned, "Don't lie to me, Uzumaki. I can see it in your face that you probably got the last male hormone sucked out of you last night. You're hair is still wet and probably didn't even stay in your own home." Even though the only thing the blond could do was blush, he decided it would be best to stay uncharacteristically silent at this moment, looking away from Sasuke's eyes. Outside the closed doors of Sasuke's office, she was literally biting her nails to no end, anxiety kicking in through every door.

"Sasuke please, just calm down, you're over reacting. Let's just starting then."

"Oh? Really? And with what form because Yamanaka Ino still isn't here with it." Naruto slightly froze at his response. Ino at that moment took it as her cue to walk in. "I'm here, Sasuke." Coal eyes stared into blue ones and rose an eyebrow, now more than frustrated and not amused at the situation before him. "Well, good morning sleeping beauty. I just wanted to apologize that I made you wake up early today at 10 in the morning."

"No Sasuke, come on, don't act like that. I really am sorry." And to be fair, she was more than apologetic as if was a simple blunder because at what happened to them last night, something neither of them thought that would happen. "To be honest, I am quite ashamed I didn't even give you the chance to dry your hair." Now it was Ino's turn to freeze, eyes slightly widening, "Wet hair? I am so sorry I didn't give you guys time to dry your hair." Naruto sighed, still looking down while Sasuke was talking, in all his right but Uzumaki head knew that wasn't everything that was keeping him so agitated.

"Bring me the forms, Ino." And without another word, Ino left, leaving the two men with each other.

"Naruto..."

"What Sasuke-teme?"

"Don't be so miserable, at least bring her presentable." Naruto scoffed, finding different spots in the room to entertain his eyes with. "Here you go, Sasuke." Ino handed him the files and Sasuke practically through them on the table without a care. "Almost forgot there, Ino, I need to ask you for a simple humble favor, I need the plan for the negotiations now." Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, "Sasuke, I'm sorry, but I don't have it ready. I was wondering if you could give me more time."

"Of course, Ino. How about for a wedding gift, or for Christmas. Does that sound like a good time for you?" Now it was Ino's turn to frown, a hand on her hip, the other pushing her wet strands of hair away from her shoulders and onto her back, "Oh please, Sasuke, you don't have to exaggerate, I could probably have it done by next week."

"Next week..." Sasuke's eyes trailed outside the city scape, eyes landing on the Akatsuki building that was the only thing stopping him, "Of course, a week sounds fine. But I'm going to need you to call production and tell them to stop for a week, and then call each board member and tell them why we can't continue and how much money we are losing because little red wet hair here hasn't finished the assignment I asked."

"Sasuke please, stop exaggerating so much-"

"Ino wait, no-", Naruto's words were in vain as Sasuke cut him off.

"Then get to work, Ino. You have two hours." Her eyes widened as she gave him a pleading look, "T-Two hours? I can't do that in two hours, I need more time."

"Were you not the one that did what you weren't told to do, and managed to get such a great report, Ino? You have been working on that report, right? Then why the hell are you still here and not working on it?" Ino frowned, clicked the roof of her mouth and turned around, swallowing her pride. Naruto watched the woman go, feeling bad about how the incident came about, and knew that Sasuke was just starting. "Congratulations, idiot. Not only did you come in late, but you also didn't let the stupid girl get her job done. Leave, I don't want to see you for about two hours."

"Sasuke-teme, you're acting like a piece of shit." Sasuke eyes darted up to meet blue ones who weren't budging from their place. "I said leave."

"Fine fine, maybe by the time I get back you'll be done with your menopause. But let me say two things, one of them so you can save yourself a heart attack, Ino won't have that done in two hours, or eight, or three weeks. And trust me, I'm saying this because I know what I'm talking about." He remembered their words from the previous night, and how truly helpless she was in such situations.

"So now I, too, have to write the report?"

"Well then, why don't you just get off your damn high horse and we both write it together?!"

"No, we won't be doing anything because everyone in this company is useless. I have two secretaries that can't do their job properly."

"Itachi passed by today, didn't he?"

Sasuke paused, his eyes a scarlet color that didn't even alarm Naruto. "What did you-" "You heard me, Sasuke. Don't take your anger out on people just people of whatever could have happened this morning between you and stupid brother." If looks could kill, Naruto wouldn't exist at this moment. "Get out", his voice dripping with venom, more than royally pissed at the blond's proclamations, even though deep inside of him he knew, Naruto was right. Naruto just sighed and left, leaving him to his business, better to stay out of his way in days like this than anything.

"Hinata!" The bluette jumped, still in a slight daze by a small proclamation she had just learned, and stepped out. "Yes?"

"Get the rest of the data forms from, Ino." Without a second's notice, she limped away, Sasuke giving her a curios look but didn't say anything. Looking around she noticed both blonds were talking to each other, barely able to make out what they were saying, she side stepped them and took the folders and papers. She didn't mean to seem so sneaky about it, but the last thing she was in the mood to do was talk to Ino, seeing as it was a hard morning for everyone. Going back, she placed him on his desk, "A-ano... Sasuke-san." He looked up from his computer and stared at her. "I just wanted to say that I-"

_Ring. Ring. Ring_. "What, Hinata?"

"I wanted to say that I have the report-"

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

"Hinata, enough. This isn't the time, just go back to what you have to do." He took in a deep breath, getting tired of everyones incompetence. Hinata bit her bottom lip and nodded her head, "How about you do something useful and get me a pack of paper for the printer from Naruto's office." She nodded and quickly and went away, but not before picking up the phone. Answering there was silence on the other line, and not having the time of day for such pranks she hung up and proceeded to go back to her second task. Thankfully she didn't meet anyone on the way there, but seeing a dash of pink made her stand up straight, so she took it as motivation to get her job done quickly.

Sakura stared at her friend and sighed, not being able to believe the words Ino had told her. "Ino, you didn't do the report, did you?" The blond friend rolled her eyes and looked away, almost not wanting to admit defeat. "It's all that stupid Uchiha's fault. He didn't even want my help after I told him I'd stay and work with him." Sakura shook her head and tried to calm down. "How about after I get a blow dry we talk about it over lunch." The pinkette stared at her friend as if she had grown a second head, turning around she walked over to Sasuke's office.

"Well, good morning, hun."

"Not now, Sakura. I don't want to speak to anyone."

"Not even me?" She asked curiously, taking a few cautious steps forward, knowing very well he only got like this when Itachi passed by. Sakura could already imagine the fight or discussion those two must of have had. "No, Sakura, not even you. Because looking at you just remind me of that incompetent friend of yours, the 8th wonder of the world, Ino Yamanaka. The one who took seven semesters of Finance and isn't worth anything. Don't get near me, because by association I'll lash out on you." Sasuke glanced back down, and turned another paper over.

_'Leave it to Ino-pig to make this into a bigger mess than it already was. Deep breath Sakura. Deep breaths.'_

"I understand, my love. Don't worry, I just think you have to be fair with her and give her some more time. I mean, she did demonstrate she could do a good job in the board meeting. Even Temari gave a small comment, and Temari doesn't give comments."

Sasuke sighed and Sakura came to the conclusion he was in more of a foul mood than she would have thought. "You are absolutely right, Sakura. I should have given her a raise and a vacation with it. Might as well make her an auctioneer, give her a part of the company. Just leave me alone, Sakura." Sakura growled and glared a her future husband,

"You're being intolerable, Sasuke! Besides, if you keep complaining about Ino so much, where is that great secretary of yours, the one that has all the knowledge in the world when it comes to finance? What, do you want to take that away from Ino too just because it's us? She even wanted to help you, and you denied her, and knowing you, you probably did the same thing with Naruto. It's a little hard to miss when he has such a sulking look on his face." Sasuke had it, enough with everything and with Sakura's annoying voice.

"For your sake and your dearly beloved brother, I've made a decision, I'll fire Hinata."

Sakura paused, taking in the information and giving Sasuke one of her most radiant smiles ever, even if she was just trying to hide it. Leaving the room, Hinata went in, both exchanging quite the look, Hinata one of curiosity. Sasuke stared at the woman who had the stack of papers in her hand, "I wanted to apologize for being late today, Sasuke-san. And about the plan of negotiations, I wanted to tell you that I already fi-"

"Hinata-san, I have something to tell you as well in respects of today's actions", he rudely and abruptly cut in, "from this moment on, you're fired. To the board it's seems like an exaggeration I have two secretaries, same thing to many people in this company."

Hinata felt nauseous for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, her knees feeling uncomfortable and the palms of her hands starting to sweat. "B-but... I-"

"It means nothing to me to have two secretaries: one with seven semesters in Finance, and another a post graduate degree, if neither of the two can fully help me out and I have to be alone with the a mountain of work I have to do", Sasuke sighed and took in a deep breath, what he was going was illogical and he couldn't deal with the situation at the moment, "I do apologize though, so the company will finish paying you one month's wage worth. So just go..." Hinata tried to open her eyes, but nothing came out, and like that her lips stayed glued together as she nodded and went back into her office, trying to net let the tears swelling up spill from the corner of her eyes. If she kept that up, her face would be stained with tears and her desk would still stay wet.

"Naruto", Sasuke called his friend through the phone, "What is it, teme? Something else you forgot to tell me?" The Uchiha growled under his breath, "More than one. I'll meet you here for lunch." Naruto just gave a simple yes and hung up, knowing more than well how Sasuke could get, as annoying as it was, he could tell he was starting to calm down. If that kept up, it wouldn't surprise Naruto if half of the company was fired.

Sasuke picked up his jacket and put it on, looking at the door at his secretaries door when Hinata opened it and stepped out. "Ah, Sasuke-san, I just w-wanted to tell you one thing before I leave."

'_Stay strong, Hinata. If you leave, then at least you would have been able to help him._' She felt so utterly silly thinking such things, but it was the only thing that was helping her from now falling to the ground and crying her eyes out. "Be brief." He eyed her features, her skin seemed a little paler than what he expected, and one of the legs from her glasses was missing, but was being covered by her blue hair. "The reason why I was late because I was finishing the plan of negotiations that you needed."

Sasuke paused, he looked at Hinata with something she would consider a funny expression. "I-I spent all night doing it, which i-is why I-I came in late today." He walked over towards her and saw slowly picked up the file from her hand, eyeing her and then the file. Quickly his eyes scanned the paper, more than thoroughly impressed at what he was reading. "As for m-my paycheck, there is no n-need. I can manage on my own. Take it as an apology for any inconvenience I could have caused", her voice almost started to choke. "Thank you for everything, and g-good luck, Sasuke-san." Sasuke was amazed, not that he would ever admit it,at her work and how well detailed and informed it was. If she actually did this in the amount of time she said she did, there was no way he would ever let go of her. Hinata had even taken the initiative to correct any mistake and showed the changed in the deficit of the company when everything would be shown monthly.

Naruto opened the door and almost bumped into Hinata, seeing her shyly on one side looking down, Sasuke sitting down looking at some stack of papers.

"Come on, teme. Let's go get lunch-"

"No, we have to start working right away, the plan of negotiations is right here. Hinata, I need two more copies, one for Naruto and another for Shikamaru when he comes in later." For some reason, Hinata nodded and quickly took out two more copies of it, handing one to Naruto who eyed like she she grew a second head. "Wait, but didn't you say that you still weren't finish it?" Sasuke stayed silent, "And didn't she say she wasn't going to do it?" He eyed Hinata who looked away at anything but Naruto's mesmerizing blue eyes. "No matter, Hinata put your things back, you're re-hired." Naruto was still more than confused but none-the-less sat down and look at the document like it was a lie.

"I'm so confused, Sasuke."

"Nagumo-san did the report and that's all that matters." Blue eyes trailed over to the woman's limping form, tilting his head as he watched her go back inside her office. "Hey, is she okay?" Sasuke looked at him for a second, still re-reading the report. "Who?"

"Well, Hinata-chan of course. She's limping and seems to be having a hard time." But quickly took back his own statement, of course she seemed like she was having a terrible time. Sasuke had seemed to fire her, and hired her again, and to deal with him you'd probably have to have a fountain of patience. Hinata came out, purse in hand this time, and excused herself, "Hinata, go get lunch, and when you come back finish explaining to me some things here." She nodded her head and reached for the door, "One more thing, Hinata?"

"Y-yes, Sasuke-san?"

"I'm sorry." And like that, Naruto stared at Sasuke in awe hearing him apologize for what seemed like the first time, and Sasuke just kept on working, deciding to deal with his fiance's antics another time. Hinata on the other hand gave them one smile that Naruto didn't miss, even looked a little surprised at her.

"Y-yes, Sasuke-san. Good bye, Naruto-san." And the woman walked out, and headed towards the ladies room.

* * *

I bet you guys thought it was going to be Ino, didn't you? lmfao. Haha, you thought. Come on guys, haven't we learned that evil doesn't die that easily.

I'm trying not to get Sasuke to be so talkative, especially around the meetings, but it's really hard if I want him to come out triumphant in the arguments. And I believe I have solid reasons throughout the chapter, but regardless, I want to get that slight ooc trait down.

Please don't forget to review, thank you!

The Count, Kennedy.


	9. Chapter 9: An Appointment, Kiss and Date

Hello, everyone! How are you all doing? Hopefully well. But hey, it's SasuHina month! Let us celebrate and rejoice! Ignore the haters and just smell the roses as our OTP is in full bloom.

And can I mention how amazing you guys are? I especially want to say thank you to each and every one of you that take your time to review my chapters, it really means a lot to me as I do read every review and take them into consideration. I love reading what you guys think about each chapter, it keeps me motivated to keep on writing.

I just want to warn you guys that this chapter might be a little bit... strange. I planned on making it two parts but sucked it up and made it one long one. The downside's that it's really long and the beginning might be a bit dragged out and well... dry. On a brighter note you won't have to wait to read the second part because it's already uploaded.

Well, I'll let you go with that and hope you enjoy reading this chapter. And hold on tight, it's going to be roller coaster one.

The Count,  
Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 9:** **An Appointment, A Kiss, and A Date**

Hinata closed the doors behind her and took a deep, deep breath. '_It's okay, I can do this, I know I can._' She kept telling herself as she limped over towards the woman's bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. '_I really am a mess, I need to fix my glasses as quickly as possible too._'

Sighing she grabbed a paper towel, dipped it in water and washed her face a bit, then patted down some parts of her skirt and shirt to get the dirt stains off. Throwing the used paper towel away, she repeated the process, but sitting down and examining her knee. It was actually worse than what it seemed, but her body was healing it pretty quickly as well. Blowing gently on it, she relaxed and looked at her watch. Seeing she had more than enough time before meeting the others to lunch, quick stop by the pharmacy wouldn't hurt.

Walking out Hinata bumped into the last person she'd expect to see, "Ah, so-sorry, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi just waved his hand lazily, while giving her a one eyed smile, "Not at all, Hinata-chan." There was a comfortable silence before Kakashi spoke once again, seeing as they were still standing outside the woman's bathroom. "I heard from Kin that you were limping," he glanced at her leg, her foot slightly elevated from the ground as to not apply any more weight on it than needed.

"Ah... yes." She looked down, pushing her glasses up as well so they wouldn't fall to one side. "Actually, I have a first aid-kit in my car, if you'd like I can help you." Hinata wondered for a moment how that would seem, again being rescued by the man, unable to not say no she gave him a gentle smile with a nod, "I would really like that, thank you, Kakashi-san."

Slowly, they both made it to the front of the elevator, "So, care to tell me how it happened? Oh, watch your step." Nodding she stepped it first, and he followed closely behind. "Ah, I tripped," Hinata answered honestly and sheepishly, if it wasn't because Kakashi had schooled himself to not laugh out loud, he would have been doing exactly that. Not being able to control it, he just ended up giving her a small chuckle, "Really now? Hinata-chan I never took you as the type who'd be so clumsy." She pouted and looked away, "I-I was in a hurry."

"Is that why you're glasses are broken as well?" Hinata stepped out first, but Kakashi swiftly left the way, also happy that there was no one around today, but knew it would be filled with people in a bit because of lunch hours. "Y-yeah, I landed on them."

"You should ask Kiba to fix them for you." Hinata made a mental note of it. "Ah, w-where do I seat?"

"Back seat, it's the most practical place, and I have to open the trunk and take it out so in the mean time just get comfortable." For some reason, Hinata already felt at home with the older gentleman who had gentle manners. Taking a seat she wondered if it was all of the adrenaline inside her that kept on making her do such bold moves, or maybe it was just that she was starting to care less and less. Her fingers slowly rolled her skirt up, barely reaching right above the knee but giving him enough space to inspect the wound.

"Okay I'm back," and Hinata finally realized why the man kept that in the back trunk. It was a huge briefcase that seemed like it could save someone from a life or death operation, while at the same time help a neuron-sergeant, and safe half the company from a catastrophe. She blinked and giggled to herself, "Thank you, Kakashi-san." His cheeks turned slightly red from embarrassment, expecting a different reaction, but was glad to hear her comment. He put on some gloves and Hinata was surprised at the amount of self control she held to not ask him why he really needed to use them, it was a simple scratch, not a wound that wouldn't stop profusely bleeding. Although, for hygienic purposes, he was doing the right thing.

He sprayed some disinfectant on it much to the Hyuga's distaste, then picked up a cotton ball and slowly and gently began cleaning up the area. Hinata just silently observed the silver haired man, taking in the way he steadily and quickly did everything without a sweat. Bandaging it up he looked at it and smiled behind his mask, "There we go, all done Hinata-chan. The fact that you cleaned it before I could have a look at it properly saved me a lot of time. It was starting to bleed again, but it's nothing dangerous." She smiled and nodded, "Thank you, once again, Kakashi-san." Both got out of the car with ease, "You're welcome, Hinata-chan." For the second time today, they both stood in a comfortable silence just with each other before he broke it once more when he felt his phone vibrate, "Well, I'll see you later then, Hinata-chan." Taking the cue, Hinata sent him a smile and made her way towards the elevator, never noticing the dark look that was on Kakashi's face when placed the suit case inside the trunk. The voice on the other line filled him up with anger as he gave the girl's back one quick glance.

Seeing everyone but Kiba in Ichiraku she smiled and waved, all had their eyes on her left, worry starting to show. Haku stood up, helped her over to a chair and sat her down, taking the seat next to her, "Thank you, Haku-kun, you didn't have to."

"Not a problem at all, Hinata-chan, Kin told us that you came limping this morning."

Violet eyes turned to look at her companion and then smiled, "I was being clumsy." Everyone stayed silent and waited for her to continue, "It's okay guys, I already had it bandaged up, I tripped and scrapped my knee. It just really hurt a lot this morning but now I'm better. I promise." Tenten sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "are you sure? And by the way, have you seen Kiba today? He comes in handy when it comes to fixing glasses. He told me once this story about how his mom has had bad eyesight, and every time she gets pissed she squishes the glasses in her hands, braking the frame. That's how Kiba got so good at fixing them." For a second Kakashi appeared in her mind, giggling to herself she nodded once more, "ah, yes, thank you. I'll be sure to look for Kiba then. Where is he?"

"Um, I think he was making errands for Naruto and Sakura today, the ones that I and Tayuya can't do", everyone nodded thoughtfully at the statement.

Once the large, warm bowls of ramen were placed in front of them, the entire group dug in full heartedly, "by the way, Kin and Tenten, cough up the money." Haku and Hinata shared a look of confusion.

"Hm?"

The three other woman looked within each other and then back at the other two, "oh, my bad Hinata, Haku," Tenten sheepishly began, hand scratching the back of her head, "the thing is that we make bets whenever we thinking someone is going to royally fuck up; Tenten started this bet with how late the blond bimbo was going to be today after seeing her leave with Naruto, and guess who won." Tayuya stated triumphantly and flipped her hair behind her shoulder, Haku pretended to be mad at the rest of the ladies, "I almost feel hurt I wasn't in on this."

"If it makes you feel better, we totally forgot to add Kiba into the group chat." Kin and Tayuya looked at Tenten who could only give a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I kinda forgot about that, and also I didn't have either yours or Hinata's number."

Kin sighed and roughly placed the chop sticks next to her bowl, "And I was so close to winning too." After a few more laughs and bitter arguments they all headed back, at a slow pace for Hinata's sake, and then went their separate ways. Sliding open the double doors, instead of seeing two figures she saw three and gave them all small smiles, "H-hello."

"Hello, Hinata-san. I see you saved everyone's butt in here, huh? Even mine you could say, because I know I would have ended up doing all the work." Shikamaru admitted and couldn't help but admire the smaller woman's strong commitment to her work. "Is it true you even got a 'thank you' from the Uchiha?" Hinata stood still, seeing Sasuke walk over towards her and glare at Shikamaru, as Naruto nodded his head.

"Please bring the original reports back once you can." Sasuke stated and gave a quick glare to Naruto, "And I'll say it again, thank you, Hinata Nagumo." Shikamaru rose an eyebrow and gave a lopsided grin, meanwhile Naruto crossed his arms as he watched the Uchiha place a hand on Hinata's lower back and guide her towards her office. He really didn't mean anything about it, it was a simple gesture, but so unnecessary of him that even the Nara head couldn't help but think something of it. Although, it wasn't like he'd bring it up in person either. Once Hinata had closed the door Sasuke continued on, "I don't know how I feel about the ceremony with Sakura."

"Ceremony?" Shikamaru questioned.

Sasuke stayed silent and for a quick moment tried to rethink his words, "Japan will recognize our civil union and ceremony as a marriage in September." Naruto frowned, but then smiled brightly, "Heh, I knew you couldn't do it, teme."

"Starting to question your judgment, Sasuke?" He met Shikamaru's eyes and sighed, "Our parents probably want a traditional Japanese wedding, but she'd like to go down the Christian/Catholic wedding style." Shikamaru stared passively at Sasuke, "Huh, never took Sakura as the religious type."

"That's because she isn't. She's also worried about the state of the company so as long as it's my position she doesn't want to take any costly moves." Which for that, Sasuke was glad that their conversation had gone so smoothly.

"By the way, Naruto, how's your little girlfriend doing?" Naruto dropped the pen he was trying to balance in between his upper lip and nose, looking around like a scared puppy in the process, "wait, wh-what Shikamaru?"

"Don't act dumb, Naruto. You already look the part." Shikamaru ended with a drag.

"Ino and I aren't dating." The Nara head tilted his head to the side and took in a deep breath, giving a silent prayer to the blond in front of him, and took a seat right after. "You know, by sleeping with Ino it's like you already have children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews right?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, no no. Stop that Shikamaru, please!"

"What? It's true. You're practically married to her now, hand cuffs and everything. Haven't you learned anything from Sasuke's flings not to date anyone in the office?" Sasuke rose his head and scowled, "Yeah, that's right. Sasuke has dated a few woman around here."

"But I'd never date my secretary."

Shikamaru gave Naruto a sly look, the blond only frowning yet again, "well, if it's such a big deal, then why not go and fire them? Can't a man live?"

"Hm, Naruto brings up a good point, you're always strangely the one telling us to never say never. Watch you end up getting married to your secretary." Sasuke just pretended to not even know of Shikamaru's existence for a moment while Naruto gasped, then couldn't control his laughter. "Before I forget Sasuke, is that the only reason why you're doubting your marriage with Sakura?"

'_Why are you bringing the topic back Shikamaru, and you're too keen on the doubting part for your own good.'_

"I'll take your silence as a no. Is it because you don't know if she's the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with while at the same time knowing that your brother-in-law is Gaara?"

Naruto stared between the both brunettes eagerly, waiting to see who would say the next thing. But after not getting anything from Sasuke and Shikamaru leaving to get a cigarette, everything died down quicker than he thought. While the whole conversation went on Hinata, unintentionally, heard everything and for some reason was happy about the outcome of Sasuke's feelings.

* * *

"-and you actually ended up asking Naruto for a favor with the form?" Sakura walked over to the table the waiter guided them too and sat down, "Well, the form wasn't really what he helped me in." Ino was smiling from ear to ear as Sakura stared at her friend with a bewildered expression. "No, you can't be-no way, you actually did, didn't you Ino?"

"Well, I asked him for the favor, he went over to me apartment, and we drank the best whiskey ever, and right when we were going to start working he started to get a little cozy with me and before we knew it, he had noticed I had a few _needs_ and by the end of the night we really hadn't even done a page."

Sakura frowned by the end of Ino's long exasperated statement, looking at the menu over. "How you managed to fill your lungs up to say that statement is beyond me." Ino rolled her eyes, "yeah yeah, I know Sakura. You don't have to tell me. So before you lecture me, I just wanted to say that before a job, what I really needed was a boyfriend." Sakura tried to hold on to the table, the next time she'd roll her eyes her body would go with them. "So, are you guys an item now?"

"Oh, Sakura, you should have been there. After a night like that how couldn't we? He told me I was the only woman for him, that no one could fill in the gap in his heart like me, and honestly I felt like a lead heroine in a romantic movie." She sighed at the end in delight.

'_More like a romance/tragedy. This isn't going to end well," _Sakura thought as she twirled the straw in the tall glass of water.

Something inside of Sakura cracked ever so slightly, "Naruto? We're talking about the same Naruto here, right?" Ino nodded happily, and sighed once more, "Ino, you are too old and have enough life experience to know that a man like Naruto would lie for a night with you. He'd throw himself on the ground, sell auctions of the company, even go to Egypt and find a new mummy just to get with a woman-"

"That sounds like you're still stuck on his old self, billboard brow. If anything, that's what woman are practically doing now for him."

Sakura opened her mouth but quickly closed it, knowing that wasn't territory she felt comfortable walking over. "I already know that, Sakura, I'm not a naive little girl and I know what a guy is truly saying and feeling in bed. To be honest, Naruto doesn't seem to be like the guy he appears to be, at least in the intimacy department."

Sakura chocked on the long sip of water she had taken.

"And I'm not saying I'd marry him or anything, but I know for sure we're going to end up living together", Sakura sighed and gave the waiter a kind smile once he picked up the menus and they gave him their orders, "Oh thank you, Kami. I'm so happy you dropped such a loving guy onto me while at the same time making me financially stable."

"Even though I'm glad to hear that you won the lottery, I really hope that Kami of yours is being earnest and listening to you. Remember, Ino, Kami is a man, and men are sneaky when it comes to their prizes. Oh, and I almost forgot, apparently Sasuke fired that ugly duckling today-"

"Oh my Kami, no way. You're kidding? Well actually, never mind, I see it happening. With the horrible mood he's been in today I'm not surprised if he fired half of the workers." Sakura silently agreed, her fiance wasn't one with words, and when angered even less. She knew he didn't do it because of her, but more because he was tired and stressed about everything. "Well, cheers to that then, now you get to work in peace, Ino." The tall glasses clinked together and the waiter came back with their food, bringing something back to Ino's mind.

"You know, Sakura... something weird happened last night too." Her eyes had a vacant and blank look, trying to search for something that wasn't there. "What else happened, Ino?"

"Well you see...," all of a sudden the blonde started to feel shy, "I just remember feeling really hot and great, but I don't really remember how _it_ happened." Sakura blinked, not really comprehending what she was hearing, "It's weird. One moment we were drinking about to work on the report and the next it's morning and we're both naked next to each other in bed. Well, sorta, I had my underwear on and Naruto had his boxers."

"Ino, were you that shit faced that you didn't remember the sex?"

"H-hey, don't give me that look, Naruto was the same way."

Sakura just kept eating her food quietly, not sure how she felt about hearing such things from her childhood friend about another childhood friend. "Well, as long as you both were consenting and there wasn't anything wrong with it all, then it's fine." Silence filled the table for a few moments before each one could find a new topic of conversation. After sharing a quickly laugh, time rolled by and before they knew it, they were walking through the double doors. Naruto was sitting down scribbled down something on a sheet of paper and Sasuke was typing away, "Hello there, well would you look at that, already in a good mood? It seems that little fit of anger you had finally went away." Ino in the other hand tried to get Naruto's attention, to which he didn't pay any thought to.

Sasuke gave his fiance the faintest of smiles, "Yeah, but if we don't anything soon we'll die of starvation", Naruto exaggerated and stretched his arms up in the air. "Not to worry, Sasuke-kun and Naruto, Ino can take care of that so you don't end up with another bad mood. Considering you won't be missing that ugly duckling-!" Sakura's eyes widen in surprise once she saw Hinata's form appear from the door behind them, limping.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt, but I ordered lunch already. I thought it would be best to make it five courses so you can work while you eat, and regain your energy. It'll be miso soup with mussels, followed by tofu with crab sauce, then chirashi sushi with miso glazed black cod with sauteed broccoli, and for dessert Yuzu crème brûlée. I also ordered a separate one for Nara-san."

All four people in the room stared at her in amazement, wondering how she managed to come up with such an intricate and traditional lunch. If you thought about it, the food itself wasn't that amazing and it could be something simple or nice a normal Japanese family would cook for a special occasion. What made it so great was the way Hinata paired up all the dishes to compliment the other and the fact she kept it to small plates with strong tastes. Seeing as how no one said anything she continued, "I saw that in the agenda that there was only western fast food restaurant, with a few traditional Japanese ones so I took the liberty of creating one like that... if you don't mind." By then her voice had turned extremely small, barely above a whisper as she was still very shy about it all.

"Whoa, that's amazing Hinata-chan, and the fact that you did it so quickly is impressive too!" Naruto practically cheered for the bluette which caused Ino to send Sakura an annoyed look. "Good, then please seat, Nagumo-san. We need to start working as soon as possible."

"Work in what?" Sakura hissed.

"In fixing the rest of the working plan," Sasuke stated in a monotone voice.

"You already did it?"

"No, Ino I did not. But Nagumo-san did. She worked on it all night and didn't have the chance to tell me until this morning. Isn't that right?" Hinata gave a curt nod, fixed her glasses and stood up straight. "Aha, and she ordered lunch too, hehe." Naruto finished off with a grin.

"Well, if that is all, then I believe it's time to start working." Sakura stayed dangerously quite, "It seems it is. Excuse us." And with that she dragged Ino out side along with her, but not before the blonde gave Naruto a glare. One they were out of ear shot Ino couldn't control herself, "I can't believe her. Can you believe it, cause I know I can't. That little rat knew I couldn't do it so she did it last night to make herself look good with Sasuke! Ugh, this just pisses me off so much. To top it off, now I have to set lunch for them in the meeting room and I'm practically starting all over from the beginning."

"Except worse." Sakura took over Ino's seat for a moment, "Not only now are you in risk of Sasuke knowing you didn't do the first report, but also knowing you couldn't have been able to do the working plan for the negotiations either."

"You don't think she told Sasuke, do you?"

"I promise you, Ino, that if she did I will drag her out of this company with kicks and punches if I have to, even if it costs me my marriage with Sasuke. And you have to take better care of yourself, for my sake please." She got up and dusted herself, "Well, I'm off to visit some of the factories in the north district, I'll be back by tonight. Just keep me posted if anything." Ino nodded and waved as her friend walked away.

"So, can you explain that again for me, Hinata-chan, please." Naruto gave her a pleading look as she nodded her head.

"You only increased the sales percentage by 7% instead of what should have been about an 17% or 18%. Because you don't take that increase into consideration, you didn't take into account the debt of the company." Naruto gave Sasuke a weird look seeing him sigh, "Wait, I'm still confused."

"You will have to change your original goal or plan."

"What?! That can't happen. Not after Sasuke put up that whole fight Gaara."

"Is there no other way, Hinata-san?"

The Hyuga nervously racked her brain trying to search for an answer, "Well, if you guys would like, I can adjust the working plan to meet your goals. If I understood properly, to meet the goals we have to solidify the costs."

"And can you do that?" Shikamaru asked, walking in at the right moment and closing the doors tightly behind him. "I took a few brief classes on it, to meet the goals you have to vary the figures," she paused for a moment trying to find the right words, "You would have to increase the debt and then lower costs in other departments, so that way the figures can coincide. The only thing that comes to mind are the raw materials like textiles in our case."

"I don't know about this," Shikamaru grumbled and took a seat next to the Hyuga, observing how her glasses were broken and there was a small tare on her skirt, "It could be quite risky, especially with our type of clientele. But we don't have that much time left. It's all up to you, Sasuke."

"There's no other choice. How fast can you be finished with this, Hinata?"

"By tonight or tomorrow morning, latest."

"Alright, well how about we do this: Hinata you go and start working on the adjustments immediately and tonight if you're done we look them over. That way the three of us, while we have lunch, can discuss what would be the best way to approach this and then look over our local costs. Those numbers are extremely important to us and we need to have them in order before tomorrow."

"That sounds like a great idea, Shika. Let's hurry, I'm starving." All of them got up and started to put their jackets back on, "Hinata, one more thing before you leave...," She paused and titled her head up to meet Sasuke's gaze, "Yes?"

"I want you to be honest with you, and I don't need an answer now. Who was the one that made the report for the board meeting? Was it you, or Ino?"

Her lips parted, but then quickly closed again giving them a smile, "Like I said, when Ino would give the plan for the negotiations you'd know she made the report for the board meeting." Sasuke smirked hearing her clever response and walked away, Naruto just blinked, "Huh? I'm confused. Ino didn't make the plan though." Hinata turned around to go back into her office, "Yes, I know. That is true, Naruto-kun." Shikamaru wrapped an arm over the blond's shoulder dragging him outside, "Come over here you idiot. The thing is that Ino didn't make the plan of negotiations Sasuke had asked for-"

"Aha, I got that much."

"And Hinata knew perfectly well Ino wasn't going to do it. Want to know why?" Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Because Ino didn't make the report for the board meeting either, so Hinata changed lanes and gave her free passage straight forward. And like Hinata predicted, she crashed herself into a wall." Naruto's smile kept increasing as the story went on and on. "Yeah, I suspected as much because Ino asked me to help her with it. She said if I helped her with the plan then she'd spend all night with me." Both Sasuke and Shikamaru gave him a thoughtful look, "And you being you, were going to do the whole thing for her, right?"

Naruto tried not to burst of laughter at Shikamaru's words, "nah, I promised I'd help her, not do the whole thing for her. Besides, I helped her out with another type of job." Sasuke smirked and Shikamaru shook his head, not believing the luck that Naruto was getting, well if that would be considered luck.

Walking towards the elevators, past Ino's desk something curiously jumped into Naruto's mind, "Well if Ino didn't make the report and Hinata did, how did it get into her hands?"

"Sakura." Sasuke calmly stated, his turn to earn a funny look from his friends.

"Probably did it to make Ino look talented." And then proceeded to yawn, "Can't stand the site of seeing another girl be happy or triumphant. Are you going to do anything about it, Sasuke?"

"No. They probably threatened her. And I am not in the mood to fight with Sakura, besides I'm sure Hinata will take care of everything. So stay silent about it, that means you, Naruto." Then he pressed the 'Down' button to call the elevator.

Naruto gave an exaggerated gasp, "_Me_? Stay quiet? How could _I_ stay quiet about this. Ino played with _my_ feelings, tried to use _me_. I was nothing more than an object for her sexual pleasure that she wanted to exploit and greedily use for herself." Shikamaru down right laughed, "When are women going to learn that men have feeling, and we don't like being seen as sex objects. All...," Naruto pretended to have something in his eyes as a lone tear fell down his cheek, "All that we want is to love. Why can't they figure out this isn't a game or some sick hobby." His voice cracked at the end.

Shikamaru joined in, although unable to compare to Naruto's bottom lip that was quivering, "I don't know what to tell you my dear friend, all that I can say is that one day they will realize that we are not sex machines, ready to do every single of their dirty needs. Then you know what that means, we must be brave and keep going forward."

"Naruto's drama classes did a number on you, Shikamaru."

The brunette shrugged and walked in the elevators with them, "Nah, more like his personality grows on you." Naruto grinned and the elevator doors closed, "Like moss."

Ten minutes later on the other side of the company, and with an calm expression, Gaara barged into his older brother's office. "Kankuro." The other man blinked, not expecting him his presence or actions at all. "Oh, hey little bro, wasn't expecting you here so soon. Want something to drink or ea-"

"Don't bother I'm not interested. I came here to hear your report." Kankuro just shrugged and pulled out a thin file, pulling out the sheets inside and spreading him evenly in front of the red head. His green hues surveyed again and again the papers, curios as to what he was reading. "What exactly is this, Kankuro?"

"Overall, they miscalculated. They put everything on a 7% percentile instead of at least a minimal 8%. They plan pretty much has no foundation to stand on. Want me to explain more or did you get the gist of it?"

"I understood perfectly fine. Tomorrow I have an appointment with Sasuke at nine in the morning, and I want you to be the one who comes with me to it."

Kankuro rose an eyebrow, "Huh? Are you crazy Gaara? I'm not going to do such a thing, that means I have to tackle Sasuke head on and be in a position where if this goes wrong, I lose my job. Besides, he's the president of this comp-"

"Sit back down, Kankuro. You need to understand your own words. If your calculations are correct, Sasuke will have to step down. Everyone knows my propositions is more stable and manageable, even you supervised it, no? The moment Sasuke leaves that will leave you as vice president instead of Naruto and Shikamaru. Stop being such a coward."

"You would do that to, Naruto?"

"I have a family business to run, I will help Naruto find another job if need be." Kankuro sighed, wondering how hard it must have been for Gaara to say that about his friend. "Nine on the dot, Kankuro. I hate to be kept waiting."

'_Yeah, you and that cousin of ours, Sasori have that in __common_.'

The brunette thought and leaned his elbow on the table, he'd be sure that they wouldn't catch on to it, but he'd rather take a few extra precautions just in case.

Gaara kept moving, ignoring Ino's greeting as he passed by her and entered Sasuke's office. "Sasuke...," He called out for a moment once he noticed the Uchiha wasn't in sight. Glancing around the organized office something caught his attention. There was another door cracked slightly open, and there seemed to be from the looks of it someone inside.

He clicked his tongue against the roof his mouth, 'i_Ignoring me as well, Uchiha? How becoming of you_.'

Walking over and moving the door wide open he saw something he wasn't expecting. It was Sasuke's secretary, or it seemed to be at least. The thought of saying something slipping past him as he observed her. Hinata had her arms on her desk, the side of her face placed on her forearm for comfort as her soft breathing indicated she was asleep. Her hair was put up in a messy bun, that made him come a conclusion how much hair she had and how long it was. Her thick barely transparent glasses were held loosely in one hand, and no matter how much Gaara looked at her it seemed two be a different woman even though he knew it was the same one. Besides, only she would wear such a hideous sweater.

"Where have we met before?" Gaara questioned out loud, unintentionally waking her up.

Her finger twitched slightly reminding her that she needed to put her glasses on, and without opening her eyes she did, much to Gaara's distaste. How many times had it been since he bumped into the woman and he had yet to see her eye color?

"G-Ga-Gaara-san, I'm so sorry about that-"

"Calm down. What exactly are you doing here in this hole in the wall?" He glanced around the crowded area once more, "Is this a place for people in the company to come and take naps?"

She shyly shook her head in disagreement, more than embarrassed at her actions, "No-no, sir. This is my office." If Gaara had eyebrows, he would have raised them in amusement. "Office? Who put you here?"

Hinata hesitated for a moment, "Sasuke-san."

"Hm, if anyone from human resources came in here and saw this they'd put him in jail instantly. But I'm sure he put you here for a reason, it seems dark enough to be the perfect place to sleep. Did he wake you up telling you where he'd be before he left?"

"Gaara-san, I was actually awake. This is the first t-time I've fallen asleep because I spent the whole night-"

"I do not care for your excuses or your private life in the least. The only thing I care about is what you do during your work hours, and I am realizing now what it is."

Hinata took in a deep breath, "No, Gaara-san, I think you have misunderstood. I don't fall asleep on the job-"

"That I already know. When you're awake you spend your time tripping people in corridors and slamming doors in their faces. Regardless, I came here to verify tomorrow's appointment with Sasuke. I'll be here nine of the dot, be sure to tell Sasuke to not forget to bring in the plan." His tone of voice stayed monotone as he turned around and left, Hinata dropping back down to her seat sighing. Her fingers reached up to her bun and let her frizzy and unruly hair drop down.

By the time Gaara had left the building, Sasuke and Naruto were walking out of the elevators and met face to face with Ino.

"Anything while we were gone."

"Actually," she gave Naruto a quick glance over and then turned her attention back to Sasuke, "Gaara passed by, but he didn't say for what. You know how he is, barely talks and never greats anyone. And Naruto, at what time are you getting out of work today?" Sasuke didn't know what came over him, but the look on Naruto's face actually made him run for the hills and laugh, but obviously he didn't. "You should answer her, Naruto," and like that disappeared into his office, throwing him into the lion's den.

"I-I'm not sure, actually. Why?"

"Well, I thought we could spend some time together. How if I wait for you and both of us leave together?" Naruto cracked a smile and nodded, "Of course! That's what we're going to do." Ino just kept her smile up and then watched him disappear into Sasuke's office. "Close call, Naruto?"

"Please, just let it go. I think secretly you're worse than Shikamaru at moments like this." Sasuke smirked at the compliment he received. Calling Hinata, she appeared at a moments notice in front of them. "Y-yes?"

"Did we miss anything, Hinata-chan?"

She nodded, "Yes, Gaara-san passed by a few moments before you arrived. He said he would be ready for tomorrows appointment and that he would be here at nine without a fault." Shikamaru came in a second later, the faint scent of cigarette lingering on him still, "Well, how's the plan coming along, Hinata?" She looked down, "I'm sorry, I haven't been able to work it that much because of my lack of sleep because of last night's all nighter. I was wondering if it would be alright if I went home to sleep and then work on it. I could be here as early as you'd like then, I wouldn't mind."

They all exchanged glanced and Shikamaru decided to speak, "Look, Hinata, how about seven in the morning? That way you have enough time to explain to us all the changes that you're making and what we properly need to speak about. Does that sound okay with both of you two as well?" In the end, all three heads nodded in agreement to Shikamaru's plan.

"Ah, well, excuse me I'll be on my way once I finish packing up."

"By the way, Naruto", he gave Sasuke a knowing look, "I saw Ino out there. What are you going to do about her?" Naruto paused for a moment and snapped his fingers in realization, "All in order caption Nara, no need to worry. How does plan B-36 sound?" Shikamaru shook his head, "Honestly, Naruto why do you torture yourself like this? Why not just bring her down and get her out of your way."

Naruto gave him a weird look as he took out his phone, "Shikamaru, please. My mother taught me not to let such opportunities go to waste. Do you know how hard it is to find a woman as pretty as Ino, with such nice legs, who is single, and has an apartment? Tsk tsk, Shikamaru. I thought better of you."

"Did your mother teach you manners as well?"

Naruto sheepishly laugh, "Sometimes I forget- Oh, hey Kin. Do you mind calling me back on this phone number in a minute? Aha- yeah that's all. Thanks."

"Ah, so it's that plan." Sasuke finally spoke, understanding where his blond friend was getting at. "Naruto, we can count on you for tomorrow, right?" He grinned and gave a light wave of the arm, "You betcha. See ya' guys tomorrow." Leaving, blue eyes clashed with another pair of blue, except hers were shinning with happiness. "Oh, hey Naruto, leaving already? Let me join you."

"Actually Ino, I don't think it'll be possible. Sasuke-teme sent me to go to a meeting with-" Naruto phone rang out loud as he pretended to be mad at the caller, "hello? Ah yes, yes. I just got the memo. I know, I'll be on my way there as quickly as possible." And like that he hung up his phone and gave Ino and apologetic look, who in turn was frowning with her hands crossed over her chest. "What a coincidence, Naruto."

"What? It's not my fault. If you really wanna' it to someone, tell it to Sasuke. He's the one that told me to visit Shino last minute. Like I want to go either." Sighing he gave a small wave and proceeded to walk away, "bye, Ino."

"Yeah... Bye." She muttered under her breath, slightly glaring at the elevator doors that were held open by him so Hinata could squeeze in at the last minute. Frowning, she plopped herself back down at her desk. Ino was engrossed in Naruto that she hadn't even noticed the ugly duckling pass by her.

"Ah, thank you for holding the door for me, Naruto-kun." He glanced down at her and grinned. "You're welcome, Hinata-chan. By the way, Sasuke would never admit it, but we are all eternally grateful for what you did. You really kicked ass." The doors opened and she stepped out, earning a smile from Tenten and Kiba who watched the two silently. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Not a problem, and good luck on the plan. Sasuke's life is literally in your hands, no big deal." She gave a nervous laugh seeing him run off, "Ah, th-thank you, I think." For some reason Hinata knew her days were only going to get harder and harder.

"Hey, Hinata-chan come over."

Doing so she looked at Kiba and Tenten, but mostly at Kiba who only grinned at her, loving the confused expression she had on her face as she stared at his inflated chest. "Kiba-kun, what do you have in thee-!" Akamaru popped his tiny white head out and barked happily and Hyuga who only smiled happily in return. "Ah, he is adorable, aren't you." She proceeded to gently pet his head with her index and middle finger, not wanting to alarm the small name. "This is Akamaru, isn't it?"

Kiba nodded his head, happy that she had remembered such a detail, "Yup, he helps me get all the ladies." And with that followed another grin. "I was going to show Tenten how I moon walk, but after hearing what she had to say about your glasses. And knowing her, she probably told you about my mom."

Hinata nodded shyly, "Aha, she-!" Her eyes shut tightly closed and her hands instantly went to cover her face once Kiba had taken her glasses. "Ki-Ki-Kiba-kun!" Both stared at Hinata in shock, not expecting such a reaction from the normally composed woman.

"Um, Hinata, are you okay?" Tenten muttered, leaning over the counter to try and examine her friend. Even Kiba was taken back by it, "I'll just go and get this fixed for you real quick then." He gave Tenten a quick glance before disappearing into a room. "Hey, Hinata. Are you sure you're okay?" The Hyuga nodded, but didn't move her hand. "Y-yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like that. It's just that I really don't like my eyes, it is what has cost me the ability to find a job before." Tenten frowned, suddenly feeling guilty for having taken Kiba's side in her mind, and to be fair for Hinata's sake, she wasn't lying that much.

"Look, we are sorry. I'm sure Kiba will understand."

Kiba instantly came back, a look of confusion in face, but happiness in his eyes. Tenten quickly told him what they had talked about and Kiba frowned, "Ah, so it's like that. Well, I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. Didn't mean to scare you like that." After that honest tone of voice, even Hinata started to feel a little bad for her harsh action. "How about this, I'll leave my hand outstretched for you with the glasses on them and Tenten and I won't look?" Hinata only nodded silently. Seeing as how everyone was agreeing, Kiba and Tenten did their parts.

Opening a few of her fingers apart her eyes adjusted to the sudden light and noticed they indeed had their eyes closed. Quickly grabbing her glasses she placed them on and sighed, guilt flooding her.

"I really am sorry. You were just trying to help and I screamed at you." Akamaru sent her a friendly bark, panting softly soon after, "Akamaru says not worry. Besides, to be fair, we didn't know you'd get like that." Tenten smiled at her, "Really Hinata-chan, don't worry about it, it was a simple mistake from both sides. Just go home, you seem tired anyways." Hinata nodded bidding them goodnight and leaving quietly.

"Hey, Tenten..." She tilted her head up to look at him as she finished cleaning up the reception area, "Yeah, Kiba?"

"Her glasses didn't have any prescription." Tenten paused what she was going and tilted her head, "huh?"

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"Hello, everyone, good morning." Hinata flashed them a small smile and received almost the same greeting back. Shikamaru and Sasuke looked like their usual self while Naruto was anxiously pacing around the room. "So, Hinata? How did it go? Were you able to do everything you promised to do?" She nodded her head, "Yes, but I just wanted to give you all a small warning. I made the adjustments you guys wanted, but to get there, I had to make great reductions from the areas of production." Everyone stayed silent giving her a blank stare, "In other words, if we keep this plan up, the company could run a great risk in running for bankruptcy or a large amount of debt."

They all sat down except for Naruto who glanced at his watch eagerly, "Can you explain in depth, please, Hinata-chan?"

"Sure, Naruto-kun. If you can reduce the costs of textiles and other margins, you can meet your profit goal."

"Hinata, is there anything else we can do? Lowering the quality of our fabrics could be detrimental to our sales." Hinata could only give a slightly shrug, "I'm sorry Shikamaru-kun, but I can't help you there. That's not where my field of study lies. You asked me to adjust the numbers to be able to fit into your plan and that's what I did."

"What do you think, Sasuke?" Questioned Naruto, "Is there any other option, Hinata?" She shook her head once more. "Then we have no other choice but to go with it. Hinata, tell us the changes that you made, so we can at least defend ourselves against Gaara."

"And we should hurry, you know how Gaara is about time, and it's almost 9." As Hinata tried her best to explain every little change that she did, Shikamaru seemed to be only one who had any idea of what she was saying as a whole. Meanwhile Sasuke struggled a little behind and Naruto needed to re-read the data a few times to start coming into terms with it. Sliding the doors open, Ino popped her head in, "Hello everyone, good morning. Gaara is here and is waiting for you in the main meeting room with Kankuro."

All three of the males sat up straight, eyes narrowing, "Kankuro? This companies financial adviser, _Kankuro_?" Ino blinked and nodded her head, not understanding what was the big deal of all of this. "Yeah?"

"Nothing, thank you, Ino. Tell him we'll be on our way." And with that she left leaving the men exchange looks of worry. "Did you guys understand anything of what Hinata said?" Sasuke and Naruto stayed more silent, "Then it seems you're coming with us, Hinata."

"M-me?!"

"Yes, what Shikamaru says is right. We can't even think about missing up one part of all of this, not in front of Gaara and Kankuro. Neither Shikamaru, Naruto or I are not financiers, but and Kankuro is. I'm sure you know this, but Gaara's rank is Manager estates of resources of this country, and Kankuro is the personal financial adviser of this company, to which both want to cut us into little pieces."

Hinata fidgeted in her seat unsure of where to begin.

"I- Gaara-san doesn't like me." Which came to no surprise to any of the men in the group. "I ran into him once before the general meeting and then swung a door at his face by the end of it. To top it off he caught me asleep yesterday because I hadn't slept the night before." Naruto was laughing at her sudden confession while Shikamaru and Sasuke held it in.

"If that man tried to do anything to you, I'll break his face. Run him over if you need to, we need you, Hinata." Hinata's eyes widen, cheeks slightly turning pink at his words.

"That's right, what Sasuke said, Hinata-chan! Believe in yourself. Believe in the me that believes in you!"

"This is going to be such a drag." Shikamaru muttered to himself, even he was unsure of the outcome of it all, but seeing the girl looking a little more determined calmed him down a bit. "Come on, let's go before Gaara has a heart attack for us being late a minute."

Entering one by one to the meeting room, they noticed Gaara and Kankuro sat side by side talking among the other. Sasuke took the initiative and sat in front of Gaara, to which Hinata sat in front of Kakuro and Shikamaru and Naruto proceeded to sit next to her. "Good morning, Gaara, Kankuro."

"I love your optimism, Sasuke. Are you sure it's a good morning?"

"Yes, despite the fact that I have to see your face so early in the morning, Gaara. And Kankuro, to what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you this morning?" Naruto and Shikamaru inwardly groaned, knowing this was either going to be a very very brief meeting a long and tiresome one.

"Gaara asked for me to show up to this meeting."

"I could ask you the same thing, Sasuke. What are the Vice Presidents of Commercial affairs doing here?"

"They helped construct the plan and bring ideas into it."

"How lovely, I hope it turns out great," Gaara's tone starting to make everyone be a little on edge. "And what is her role in all of this?"

"She is my secretary, as you already know her, Hinata Nagumo."

"More than knowing her, you could say I've survived her."

Sasuke smirked, "Quite funny that you mention that, because on our way her she told us about the encounters she's had with you and I reprimanded her harshly for not finishing you off when she had the chance. Shall we begin then?"

'_Naruto, control yourself. A sassy Sasuke is a funny Sasuke, but now is not the time to laugh._'

Gaara opened the file and got unusually comfy, "Do you need me to say?" Pipped in Ino at the last moment, "No, Ino, it won't be neccesarry. How about you bring us all something to drink."

Everyone ordered something and Gaara's choice was unique in its own way as well, "I'll have tea, with some tranquilizers. For Sasuke of course, he seems a little pale and nervous." Sasuke ignored his little statement and direction his attention back to Ino, "Aren't you going to ask Nagumo-san for what she would like?" To which Ino with hold her composure and gave the Hyuga a fake smile, "What would you like?"

"I'll some tea, and water please." Was Ino left, Gaara began.

"The real reason why I brought Kankuro in was because, as a neutral party in this company, I asked him to look over the plan and state all the errors in it."

"Neutral? He's your brother, Gaara. That's as neutral as when Hitler stated that he wouldn't invade Czechoslovakia, and yet here we are-"

Gaara swiftly cut Shikamaru off, which in turn only made him frown, "you may begin, Kankuro."

"You will have to excuse me, Sasuke, but your plan is inconsistent. There are fault in your calculations when it comes to the financial costs, meaning there is no solid foundation for your plan. Now when we go over the plan entirely, I can point out how all these faults effects your plan and causes it to not work."

"That's the result you get when you're talking to Kankuro; an Industrial Engineer who mastered in Enterprise Business Management and did a, you could say, concentration in Finance. It's quite humorous how they try to walk into a place were only financiers are allowed. If only the rest of the people in that board meeting could be here to re-do their votes."

"We are quite aware of those faults, which is why we have taken the liberty to fix them, without changing out goals." Kankuro frowned, knowing it would have been possible, and he should have prepared for that, but he honestly didn't think that any of them had it in it to change a plan so drastically is such a short notice. "Corrections? Care to tell which ones that are, Uchiha?" Sasuke's smirk didn't waver, "Hinata-san, why don't you explain to these gentlemen the changes."

"W-?"

"How lovely, Sasuke. We have the president and the two vice presidents of this company here and we have to attend to our business with the secretary. Sasuke, have some professionalism. If I would have known this was the case, I wouldn't have brought Kankuro over, and just brought my apprentice. "

After a moment of awkward silence Hinata decided to take initiative, "Well, let's start at the fixed costs..."

Outside Sakura passed by Ino's desk and smiled, "Good morning friend of min-"

"Don't start billboard brow, I'm not in the mood."

"What happened now? And do you know where Sasuke-kun is?"

"That little Sasuke-kun of yours is driving me up a wall if he keeps this up. He's currently locked up in a board meeting with Gaara, his brother, Naruto and Shikamaru, and, of course, that ugly duckling!" Sakura was surprised at the more than noticeable turn of events.

"Wait, Hinata you mean?"

"Which other one? He was being so nice to her too. He sat her down next to him and Naruto, then he even made me take her order with the rest of the people. And you know what she did? She actually ordered water and tea!"

"Oh please, Ino. Don't worry about it. I'm sure she's just there for some simple thing, nothing utterly amazing. Maybe hand out a few folders or scribble some things down."

"Yeah, well, I can do the same thing if not better! If this keeps up Sakura, I'm going to end up shinning Sasuke's shoes while cleaning her desk. It just pisses me off that Sasuke does these things to me in front of your brother, who might I add is looking fabulous today. What a man the Earth is going swallow the day he dies."

"Control your panties, Ino." Sakura's stated with a tone of amusement in her voice, "And by the way, are you betraying Naruto's words and love?" Ino looked away and played with the tip of her blonde hair, "What, did you guys end already, Ino?"

"Hm, I don't know, he was acting a little weird yesterday."

"I warned you."

Sakura placed a hand on her hip and sighed once her friend's look fell, "Well, how about we go and take a peak in the main conference room and see what's going on. That way you can calm all your thoughts that are rolling up in that head of yours." Ino shrugged and lazily followed Sakura around, finally making it to their destination. "See, nothing to worry abou-"

The pinkette stopped mid sentence when she slightly opened the door to hear Hinata's voice firmly holding her ground. "The financial cost was fixed from 6.9 % to 8.9 % while also taking into consideration an inflation rate of up to 15%."

"That maybe true, but the DTF is below the 22% margin, where it should have been calculated over a 25% margin." Kankuro quickly shot back.

"I'm sorry, Kankuro-san, but you are incorrect. With the information we have been receiving from the banks, we should be able to increase everything from a 22% to 27%. We could even call any banks if you wish to confirm the information." Kankuro sighed and gave Gaara a crooked glance, "No, that won't be necessary, but LIBOR does not have the variations that the board minorities predicted for this year. And if the plan includes exports and debt in dollars it will cause a deficit within the next six months leading to bankruptcy before the end of the year."

Ino and Sakura gave each other a quick glance, going back to a position where no one would notice them. "Oh Ino, I have some bad news." Sakura snapped her fingers in front of her face, "Snap out of it, Ino. Okay, so maybe coming here and showing you what the ugly duckling was doing wasn't such a good thing. What are you going to do now?" Ino just sighed, feeling completely defeated, "Go shopping."

"That's the spirit! That's what every woman does when she's depressed, and what are you going to buy?"

"That's what woman with money do, and as you can see I'm not one of them, Sakura."

"So... you're saying you're going to buy what?"

"I'm going to buy some new ties for Sasuke, some Windex for that _woman's _desk to keep it impeccable and clean, and an apron for me." Ino ended with a pout and sad look on her face.

Back in the main conference room, Gaara was glaring not only Sasuke but at the other three people sitting buy him. "It brings me much _much_ joy to know that the future of this company is in the hands of a secretary." Sasuke smirked and glanced at Hinata, "Hinata, why don't you tell Gaara over here, exactly who you are?"

"My name is Hinata Nagumo and I have a Bachelors of Science in Mathematical Economics with a post grad in Finance. Then I did my internship under Tsunade."

Shikamaru smirked, "Please, Hinata. Don't be so modest. She also knows how to run and manage stocks, and can do any type of financial or economic analysis you throw at her, all in all, she's a miracle worker."

"Without further adieu, I believe all we need is a signature from you and your brother, Gaara, and we can fax a copy of this to the rest of the board members signaling that the plan is ready to go. Hinata please take care of that." Gaara reluctantly signed, and Kankuro followed over.

"Hehe, thank you for coming over guys, but we have to get back to working hard."

Green hues clashed with blue ones, "And I'm sure you will have to work very hard, Naruto. Don't get too confident, Sasuke. You and I both know that this could be the beginning of the end for this company especially if you want to continue on with such a proposal. Good bye." Grabbing his briefcase, the red head walked out the door with Kankuro closely behind who had an apologetic look on his features. The rest of the four bodies in the room completely relaxed and Shikamaru let out a small laugh.

"I can't believe we did it."

Naruto was so happy he was practically bouncing off the walls, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

Hinata took in a deep breath and relaxed her tense body, not realizing for how long she had held it in, "So, we won, right?" She asked shyly, head tilted up watching Naruto's wide toothy grin. "Did we win? Man, Hinata you were so bad ass back there! Did you see how surprised Kankuro was every time you said something, and the way Gaara's mood shifted when you deflected all of his traps?-"

"Hinata, you really saved our butt-?!"

Shikamaru blinked, looking confused when Naruto bent down and kissed Hinata on the forehead, then pulled away to take off his jacket and throw it in the air not caring where it landed. "Yeah, a total life saver, Hinata! Early lunch for me, see you guys later!" The three people, one more confused than the other, stared at the blond haired man leave in a hurry out the door. Hinata on the other hand was as red as a tomato and didn't move an inch, never having expected such a reaction from the man.

"Well, that was weird..." Shikamaru stated blankly, still trying to process what had happened. Sasuke at the other hand rose an eyebrow and shook his head.

"That aside, you did good, Hinata." Her eyes traveled over to Sasuke's face and noticed a faint smile, maker her smile too.

"Thank you guys, but it really wasn't anything. I bet Shikamaru could have done it as well."

"Shikamaru could have, but it would have taken him about a week," the brunette only nodded his head and chipped in, "Yeah, it would have been too much of a drag having to do all of that research in such little time, especially with all the work I have to do." Hinata just smiled at the Nara's statement, happy that if she wouldn't have been able to do it, he could have some how saved the day. Before she stood up and left, something clicked in her head and she sighed, "I don't mean to bring the party down, but we should also take into consideration what Gaara-san and Kankuro-san said as well."

"In what part?"

"The proposition is very dangerous for the company."

"Do not worry, Hinata. I know that, and I won't let anything happen to this company. How about you as well go on break, you've earned it for marking you territory and standing up against Gaara. I'm proud of you."

Hinata let Sasuke's word sunk in and nodded, bowing right before she left and closed the door behind her. Shikamaru leaned over and patted Sasuke on the back, "If it wasn't for her Sasuke, you'd be dead." The Uchiha gave him a crooked glance and nodded, "You should have given her a kiss too, I bet that would have brightened up her day." Sasuke smirked and shook his head, "She almost fainted when that dobe kissed her forehead, can you imagine what would have happened if I did that?"

"Conceited aren't we? So you're not denying that you'd do it?"

"Maybe," Sasuke being ahead gave Shikamaru one last fleeting look and closed the door behind him, leaving the other man alone with a stupid look on his face. Shikamaru just sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Watch what you say, Sasuke. Let Sakura hear you joking about something like that."

'_Hell, let's be honest here. Let her hear you joking around about another woman period_.'

* * *

"Calm yourself...," Hinata kept repeating to herself, almost a mantra of sorts. The last previous minutes kept playing again and again in her mind, from Sasuke's words to Naruto's, "Kiss." She shook her head trying to get rid of the thought, her finger tips gently touching the part that he kissed. Her feet took her to the reception area where Tenten was waiting with an annoyed Inuzuka who was fidgeting from side to side about something. Tayuya and Kin not too far behind joined in on the conversation.

"-that's not my problem. I don't want to hear any of it."

"Don't want to hear what, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked, finally meeting up with them.

"Don't get me started Hinata-chan, this witch-! Ow, don't touch me demon spawn!" He growled over at Tayuya who grinned evilly at him, not minding that she had missed a punch. Tenten sighed and ignored the duo, "Hey Hinata-chan, oh, you look like you're in a good mood, especially with that huge smile on your face." She smiled brightly, "Did you find a cute guy, or did you win the lottery?" Hinata just blushed and shook her head, not realizing she had been smiling so.

"No, it's just that the meeting went really well, and everything will be going smoothly."

"That's good, I'm really happy for you, Hinata-chan." Pipped in Haku from behind her, making her jump a little. "Oh, Kin, I see you brought the cards you told me about this morning." Hinata stayed silent as the beauty nodded her head, "Yeah, didn't like what I told you this morning? I didn't take you as the cry baby type Haku." He gave her a fake smile and shook his head, "Not at all, I was just so happy to hear those words that I needed a confirmation that they weren't fake."

"She's a witch I tell you, a witch!" Akamaru popped his head out of Kiba's jacket and barked, growling silently afterwards.

"I predicted someones future with accuracy, and I tell Kiba I'm a cat person and now all of a sudden I'm a witch," Kin stated in an annoyed tone, everyone making their way to their usual place with small conversations and laughter. "What ever you do, don't let her read your future, Hinata-chan, just don't." Finally realizing where they were getting at she gave Kiba and Kin a friendly smile. She had never been too curios as to when she would die or what the future had in store for her, but moments like this she couldn't help herself.

Once they had finished lunch, quiet early because there was no line, Kin placed the cards in front of her. The faces of the cards were an off white that held an Italian gold trim, "Alright Hinata-chan, I'll offer you one more time. Would you like for me to read your cards?" Giving a small shrug and an apologetic look over towards Kiba she ended up accepting.

"Actually, yes please." Grinning, Kin gave her the deck and started with some simple instructions.

"Alright, shuffle until your heart is content, then place the deck on the table and cut in half with your left hand- exactly like that." Tenten and Kin noticed how she performed the simple instruction with such fluidity and swiftness it took them by surprise, "Now pick one deck."

"Whatever you do, don't pick- ugh.." Kiba moaned in pain, face laying on the table after Tayuya had somehow managed to kick him across the table.

"This one." She picked the right one and gave it to Kin who took it and set the format out, more than surprise one time after another with each card she was reading. "Well then..." Kin paused, running her fingers through her hair, her dark eyes switching between the girl with thick glasses and the cards. "Hinata, is there a guy who is very important to you that you're not telling us about?"

Hinata didn't flinch, not sure how to take the question, "I must be my father. I do care about him a lot." The rest of the group groaned, feeling like they were given an almost anti-climatic ending to a movie with a great plot.

Kin on the other hand didn't buy it, "Really now? Because if that's the case this is some incestuous relationship you have going on here. The man that this card is talking about it is fundamental in your life, Hinata."

"Maybe you'll be getting married soon, Hinata-chan." Haku gave her a friendly smile as she blushed at the words, "Shh, shh. I'm trying to read the cards." Kin's eyes kept trying to look at the cards but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she decided to add another one. Unfortunately it only made her frown, "I see a very intense relationship here, very special, very strong. It will probably change his life and yours." Kiba stayed silent, glaring at the cards, "Oh yeah, well who's the guy? Is he single, rich or something?"

"Hm, is he handsome or cute? By the way, why you asking, Kiba? Starting to do U-Turns now?"

Kiba scoffed, "Please, Tayuya. You wi-"

"Guys please, it's not like I'm seeing a picture of the guy or anything. Nor am I looking at his bank account of tonight's winning Lottery numbers. All that I can see if that this is cool type of guy that will have a relationship or is in one with Hinata."

"Do you really not know the guy then, Hinata-chan?" To which the Hyuga just simply shrugged, "No, I don't Haku."

Tenten giggled, "Ooh, I think I might know who it is. If it's not someone you can tell us, then it's probably your boss, Hina-chan." Hinata only ended up having a minor flashback to Sasuke's words and shook her head, "No-no, Tenten-chan. It's not him-"

"Actually there could be a possibility. I'm getting a lot of good vibes from this." Tayuya gave her a grin, "Look at that Hinata. Even the Kami's are giving you good praises. No need to bashful, the cards don't lie." In the faint back ground you could here Akamaru and Kiba growling silently.

Kin took a deep breath and took out another card. This time she was just mad and slightly envious. "Oh Kami, Hinata. I don't know what type of lemonade you're selling in your front yard but please give me the recipe." Hinata just gave a short laugh, "Pardon me, but what are you talking about, Kin-chan?"

"Like I said, I don't know what you're doing, but hook it up. Two more men will also appear in your life, and apparently you've met them already. One you've had a rough encounter with?" Kin questioned, unsure of what the cards were telling her, and something else popped up causing her to widen her eyes. Keeping her lips shut, she decided to keep that one in her back pocket for later, "He also seems to be connected to the main guy... how about we call him, blank-san?" Everyone gave a silent nod, including Hinata who felt like her palms were starting to sweat, a single person coming into mind at the moment, one she didn't want to remember.

"He will be very, very influential."

"What about the other guy, can you get anything on him?" Tenten asked excitingly, to which Kin shrugged. "Well, this guy comes and goes, I'm getting a different vibe from him. Like he knows what he wants but can't get it for some reason. I think he will eventually be the first one to get out of the way for the main guy."

"Whoa, this is pretty interesting. Talk about having quite the suitors, Hinata-chan." Haku stated to which Tenten and Tayuya nodded in agreement.

"Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I think it's time for us to start heading back to the office. We're going to be late and I'm not in the mood to get a lecture from the guy with the most tardies in history." As everyone packed up and started to leave, Kin got close to Hinata poked her on the shoulder, "Hey, the cards got you thinking, huh?" To which Hinata just nodded shyly, "It's cool, but just because the cards spell out change, doesn't mean it's always for the better. So just try to make wise decisions. Unlike the Inuzuka idiot over there."

Hinata just watched in amusement the whole time.

* * *

"Wait, what?!"

Hinata tried really hard to not look like she was scared, but she would be lying if she wasn't. Through the two hour board meeting Sasuke had singlehandedly cut any loose ends, and was finishing up his final words. Except, they were the beginning to the end of it.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke-kun, what is all of this about?" Sakura demanded, giving Hinata a quick glance then looking over at the rest of the board members present. Each of them with a look of confusion in their faces except for Kankuro who looked like he was having everything, but a ball. Currently present was Sasuke, to his left Hinata followed by Sakura, then Shikamaru and Naruto. At the end of the table was Kakashi, followed by Sai, Kakuro and two empty chairs that would normally hold his absent siblings.

"It's very simple what I'm saying, Sakura. Hinata restructured my proposal and Kankuro-san found a series of..."

"Errors." Shikamaru added to the conversation.

"That didn't even exist. From the beginning he was against me and everything that I have been for along side Naruto and Shikamaru." Sai decided to stay silent as Kakashi eye'd everyone's reaction, certainly not expecting this twist of events.

"To be fair, we can't have an employee who is going against the president of the company and could possibly try something to change that." Sakura kept her mouth shut for a moment, trying to think of a comeback to defend her brother, "Which is why I ask of you, Kankuro-san, to please hand over any information and documentation regarding the manners spoken before in the previous meeting over as you are not in need anymore."

"Sasuke! What is going on?"

"Sakura, please don't. It's fine. He just asked her to supervise everything I did, not take the title away from me. Nothing to get so pissed off about." In actuality, he was royally pissed, but it's not like he'd give the Uchiha the chance to see him in such a state. And like that, he picked up his papers and left without another word. Sakura dropped the subject, but not before sending Sasuke a text message saying that they'd have to talk about this over.

As Hinata predicted the meeting kept on for about two more hours when even Sai couldn't take it anymore, not willing to give up the quality of his fabrics. Lucky Naruto was there to practically force him to change his mind, even Kakashi had been on Sai's back about the contracts with the models. Considering how tasteless most of the woman and men there were with such things, he preferred to keep everything organized before it got more than out of hand. It had reached a point where Shikamaru had left twice for a cigarette break and Kakashi as well for, well, whatever he did on his breaks. Finally dismissing the meeting, Shikamaru made a B-line over to Sasuke and practically cornered him.

"I usually don't care with what you do, because out of all of us here including myself, you tend to make the most rational decisions, but don't you think what you did to Kankuro was a little harsh? You're soon to be wife is his sister."

"Kankuro is Gaara's mole, and we can't have such a close call again if something like that were to happen. We got lucky Hinata was on our side. Besides, we are making really drastic and dangerous moves for the company so we can meet with our projected deadlines and meet our goals. Which is why we need people we can trust." They both stayed silent, two names popping into their heads and one was the second vice president.

"Hinata, you mean."

Sasuke nodded and made sure they were absolutely alone by now. "She's the type of person that help us take this company where it needs to be."

* * *

Gaara gave the waiter a blank look as he ordered.

"Sir, would you like for me to bring you the food right away, or wait until your partner has arrived."

"No need. She'll be late anyways." Nodding his head, the waiter went on his way and left the red head alone to his own thoughts. Glancing back down at his phone he sighed for what seemed to be the 80th time that day, not sure how he let himself get into such a situation. He assumed that blonde haired woman, Ino, probably picked on Sakura for so long that she gave up and ended up have to set him up on a 'date' with her. The only reason why he had excepted was because of the blackmail material and strong persuasion she had over him.

'_You want to play like that, Sakura? By all means continue, but I won't be gentle or nice about it.'_ He thought and took a small sip of the red wine placed in front of him.

* * *

Hello!

I bet you guys thought that Hinata was going on a date or getting asked out or getting kissed on the lips or something like that, huh? Well you thought wrong! -evil cackling in the background-

I also wanted to mention that if there is anything about this fanfic that you should probably google is what LIBOR means. It came out to be really helpful for me, plus it's something new you learn. And I would have to say it was a blast writing about a superstitious Kiba and an over excited Naruto in this chapter.

And for those that can't wait, I'll give you a hint for the next chapter.  
It will have some more Akatsuki, the reason why Kiba is mad at those Tarot cards, and the second part to Ino and Gaara's unexpected date.

Thank you all for reading, I hope you had a blast reading this. Tell me what you think, and don't forget to review.

The Count,  
Kennedy.


	10. Chapter 10: Problematic Blonds

**The Count:** Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and fine. Sorry for taking so long in this chapter, I just had to rewrite it a few times because I had a change in where I wanted this story to go. I was going to start this chapter off by killing an important character, but then I quickly came to my senses and realized I could kill them at any time, so why hurry?

**Sasuke**: Wait... What?

**The Count:** Sasuke please, I am trying to speak. As I was saying, can I just say a big thank you to everyone who reviews my last chapter? You are all so wonderful and amazing, and your reviews were even better! Thank you, once again. Some of your reviews had quite the 'clever' ... predictions for the story that weren't so off base.

**Hinata:** Yes, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

**The Count**: Thank you, Hina-chan, but there won't be much of you or Sasuke in this chapter, but I'm sure everyone will see why and hopefully enjoy it. I decided to make this chapter a bit more humorous and light. Also thinking about adding a time skip really soon.

**Sasuke**: Sounds like a plan, but Deidara is an annoyance.

**Hinata:** Sasuke-san... what does that have to do with what Kennedy-san is saying?

**The Count:** Honestly Sasuke... you're such a party pooper. Every party needs a pooper that's why they invited you. Party pooper, party poo-! NO SASUKE, NOT THE VASE!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Problematic Blonds**

"Yeah, and then the bitch OD'ed on heroine. I guess she was more of Deidara's type, going out with a bang." Sasori mentally applaud himself for the words, not realizing the joke it also held.

Itachi just gave his friend a slightly worried look but decided to keep the comments to himself knowing it would be better. Although, he had to admit that being with Sasori, Deidara, and Hidan was making him question their sanity and choice of jokes to laugh at. Opening the door for the red head, Sasori went in and met with an annoyed looking Deidara who would have rathered been doing anything else at the moment. The two trashcans next to him were filled to the top with crumbled blue and white papers, the desk was littered with those same sheets that Deidara would have classified as an 'organized mess', and the number of paper planes ledge onto the ceiling was starting to grow excessive.

_'It's really dark in here_.' Dark hues stared at the blinds closed shut.

"What brings you guys over here so early, un?" Deidara tilted his head, laying his head on the palm of his hand.

"We wanted to check with you how the rough draft designs are coming along." Deidara glanced at Itachi from the corner of his eye, "It's... getting there."

"Unlike that disgusting side artwork of yours." His eye traveled over Sasori's form, "Shut it shorty, like anything you do is any better." Sasori frowned, slightly ticked off from what he was hearing. "Shorty? Please Deidara, you're only two centimeters taller than me."

"Yeah yeah, whatever, un. Talk to me when you hit a growth spurt and actually, look your age."

"Deidara, you pi-"

"I believe we came here to talk about business. No?"

Both bodies glared at each other for different reasons, and soon enough all three of them were sitting down, looking over at the new seasons designs. More than impressed at how they were coming along, Itachi made a few mental notes on how it could improve, "These are coming along great, have you decided on the fabrics yet?"

The blond shrugged, "That's the problem I'm having trouble with. We have a specific select group of people we sell our clothes too, now if we want to start selling it to lower-upper class and higher middle class people, we will have to lower the cost of our products. Which means we will have to lower the quality of our fabrics so we can still get the same amount of earnings back from those sales."

Itachi stayed silent, realizing where Deidara was coming from, seeing as he had a very similar conversation with Sasuke about an hour or so ago. Sasori tilted his head in a crooked, and what seemed to be uncomfortable manner. "That reminds me, Itachi why where you at S&amp;U today?"

The ex-Uchiha hire showed no emotion what so ever and didn't bother replying back with the same suspicious tone of voice, "I had to give my little brother a lesson. Practically on the same subject, we are talking about today." Deidara and Sasori exchanged a curios look. Sasori, on the other hand, gave a small smile, "Ah, I think I can understand why." Itachi said nothing, looking passive as ever.

"I believe I bumped into his secretary today. Well, she was sprawled all over the sidewalk, papers everywhere. I was going to ignore her and keep on going until I saw one of the papers had the company logo stamped on the upper right part."

"And what makes you think that's his secretary."

"No other person in the company besides Sasuke's VPS and Sakura would have that type of information."

Both men let the information sink in, anger slowly starting to boil from the grudge they've been holding in for the dynamic duo. Two years ago, when the company was officially stated as a multi billion company, there was the 20XX CFDW Fashion Awards and Discussions for all the best fashion brands to talk and discuss their positions about how they got there and what plans they had to grow their empire. To Hidan it seemed like who had a bigger dick contest while ridiculing the rest of the brands, to which he gave comments like: '_Marc Jacobs ain't going to do shit but put his name fifteen times over an item_,' and '_Zara ain't shit either, it's just the Spanish version of Forever 21. How the hell did they make it this far_?' But like Hidan's unnecessary comments, so were S&amp;U comments about Dawn/Akatsuki.

Sasuke was representing Fugaku in the meeting and didn't even hold back for a moment stating that their fabrics were of low quality, something people shouldn't be wasting their time with. To top it off, Sakura added to the conversation saying that the designs were something easily forgettable and it seemed like cheap copies stolen from any fashion magazine. Coincidentally, that year Deidara had picked the fabrics and Sasori had designed the clothing. Thankfully, despite the ridicule they received, the Akatsuki ended up coming home with three awards: Menswear Designer of the Year, International Award, and the Fashion Icon Award went to Itachi, much to Sasuke's dismay.

Itachi coughed, snapping the duo out of their trance, "What did you get from the paper, Sasori?"

"As perceptive as ever, Itachi. Sasuke will be setting that company to bankruptcy before the end of the year if he ends up going with his plan. At least, from the little, I could glance over." His eyes narrowed, "But if everything goes to the T, stock market and sales, they will be overlapping us in money/sales and everything else within a year."

Deidara gave a low whistle, "Is the Uchiha that desperate to show he can run a company? Or should I say to the ground? Heh, I can see why you left that pigsty of a family, Itachi." Deidara sent him a smirk that quickly turned into a frown once he noticed the flicker of red in Itachi's eyes.

"You hate them that much, un?"

Itachi chose his words very, very carefully. "Have we heard anything from Danzo?"

The blond shrugged, expecting him to avoid the question, but not ask him one like that in return. "Ever since you quit, it's been nearly impossible to track him down. Although we have word that he's back in the country again."

"What a coincidence, Neji Hyuga being spotted in China and Danzo apparently back in the country." Itachi's index finger hit the wooden armchair once. "Neji?" The name leaving a very metallic taste in his mouth. Sasori nodded his head, "Yes, it seems a very low-quality picture of him appeared on an obscure website and quickly went viral moments later. It's the only thing everyone has been talking about these past two days."

No matter how Itachi tried to wrap his head around the subject, he wasn't liking what he was hearing. "We cannot let Neji Hyuga get back in the picture." Sasori and Deidara exchanged another look, this time, one of amusement. "Hm? What makes you say that, Itachi?"

"They were a truly respected fashion brand that disappeared off the face of the Earth, who's clothing _if_ found and unworn nowadays, can sell online in the six digits."

"That much?"

"I don't think you understand, Deidara. They worked hand in hand with the Aburame's, meaning they received the best professional hand picked silk, cotton, and any type of fabric they could get their hands on. Which now the Aburame's work directly with S&amp;U. The Hyuga's specialized in Kimono's for all types of occasions: weddings, birthdays, secular and nonsecular ceremonies. Their fit was impeccable, it seemed as if they were all custom made for each buyer regardless of gender or age. They're the epitome of Japanese traditional fashion." Deidara let Sasori's words engrave themselves in his mind.

"Yeah so? What are the chances of him actually coming back? Did they really make that much money?"

This time Itachi answered, "Join the annual gross income of the Akatsuki and S&amp;U. Now double it, and that's how much they use to make."

Deidara was actually feeling a bit intimidated for once, not only by how much the Hyuga's use to make but also by Itachi's ability to find that information. "H-how did they make so much money?"

"Did you ever bother reading up on any of our rival's company Deidara? The Uzumaki/Namikaze, Uchiha, Hyuga, Sabaku, Aburame, Akimichi, and Nara clans have been around since the Heian period, working as samurai under Daimyo's and such. It wasn't until the mid to late Edo period that things started to change. The Hyugas were the first to somehow escape the title of Samurai and make it to Court Nobility, followed by the Uchiha's and the Namikaze's and Uzumaki's. By the end of that era, those clans had someone either attain the title of Court Noble or Shogun. Following the end of the Edo period, the Hyugas were working alongside the Aburames' and made clothing only for the elite, the Uchiha's followed closely after, and then the rest of the clans did the same until now, in our modern times."

Deidara, even with the bored look on his face, was actually quite surprised to hear that. "So, shouldn't that mean that they should all be in equal footing, including that little cousin of yours?"

Itachi this time sighed, not because of Deidara's question but because of his family's back story.

"During the great Kanto earthquake and tsunami of 1923 that cost the lives of over 140,000 people and left over 40,000 homeless, the Hyugas and Uchihas were household names in the budding American fashion industry by then. Seeing the widespread horror and chaos of it, they sent every single piece of clothing they had manufactured to the Kanto region, not caring about how much money they lost in that effort. On the other hand, the Uchiha's did nothing, and only helped out the ambassadors and elite whom they deemed truly needed help."

"So the Hyuga's weren't stuck up pricks after all..."

"Deidara, please. Of course they were." Sasori scoffed, his tone of voice skimming close to annoyance, "They saw a great business and publicity opportunity and took it. By giving away the clothes, they made themselves seem like the honorable and prideful clan that they were while at the same time giving people a sample of their clothing."

"And how were they not in bankruptcy after that? Sounds counter intuitive to me, Sasori-_dana_."

"People were grateful, even though what they needed was food and shelter, they found uses for the clothing. They traded it for food, or opportunities to leave the vicinity and move somewhere else." Itachi nodded in agreement and continued, "The Japanese government helped them-"

"You're kidding me?"

"The government had never seen such a generous act, especially from an elite family like them that they covered a small cost of the debt they put themselves into." Deidara shook his head in disapproval, thinking that the government shouldn't be butting in affairs that didn't concern them.

"Which caused other high ranked and elite groups of people to donate to them, setting them back in their feet within a month."

"Why didn't those rich people just donate half of that money to the people who actually needed it in the disaster The whole government part sounds like a load of baloney to me."

Sasori tilted his head, his voice honest and icy, "Those _rich people _didn't get anything out of helping the poor. The Hyuga's probably made deals with everyone they could get their hands on, international or not. Rumor has it that there was even an alliance with the Japanese government and them, but it has never been proven or brought up to debate after the incident died down. Exactly, who ran the company at that time, Itachi?"

Deciding to finally speak, Itachi took a deep breath in. "Hiashi's grandfather... who raised Hiashi himself."

"So that's why the Sabaku and Uchiha's joined forces? To take down the Hyuga some 20-ish years ago, un?"

Itachi gave a curt nod, "It didn't work, for the most part. Hiashi's wife dying, followed by his accident, and Neji's actions were the cause of the downfall of it. If that company was still running, we wouldn't stand a chance and neither would S&amp;U. We can't allow Neji to bring that company back at any cost."

"Hm, we will probably have to hold a meeting for this later on. Which remind me, what do we do about Danzo, un?"

Itachi frowned, "We can't let him get near Sasuke at any cost."

* * *

Neji looked at himself, then at the wig, then back to himself again, and finally laid his eyes to rest on the god forsaken wig. He swallowed his pride and wrapped his hair up in a high, but loose pony tail, and clipped it around in a circular motion with bobby pins. Moments like this he truly wished he wasn't so attached to his hair so he could just chop it off and go his way. Placing the short wig on, he examined how he looked with it and sighed once more.

'_White is not your color, Hyuga_.'

Putting on some brown contacts, with dark shades after, he realized that maybe this was just the beginning to his karma for what he did to Hinata. When he arrived to Narita airport people were sending curios glances his way despite the fact that he had large sunglasses on, hiding his trademark eyes. If it wasn't because he passed by a tv and saw his name on the screen, he never would have guessed people had found out about it. Connecting two and two together, he came to a simple conclusion that he needed a better disguise. Unfortunately for him, the only wigs he could find were in a sketchy store inside the airport. They were long with either black or brown hair, which didn't help him in the slightest leaving him with only one option left: the short white one. It was styled in the similar manner of Gintoki Sakata, the actor who became famous for his reality tv show _Gintama_, and almost got sued years afterward because of abusing the parody law.

Walking out of the bathroom and joining the crowd that lead to the nearest train station, he started to realize what he had done and what he was about to do. Somehow he had to fix _it_, but he knew he couldn't just show up to the Hyuga estate out of no where.

"Wait... is there even a Hyuga estate anymore?" He thought out loud to himself, not realizing how much things could have changed in his absence.

"Oh, my gosh, did you hear? Neji was spotted in China!"

If it wasn't because he was wearing a disguise, with two layers of outdated clothing, a fake ID and contacts, Neji would have jumped 10 feet in the air. Staying silent, he over heard the conversation the two woman behind him were having as he tried to calm his nerves.

"Ah, you mean the young Hyuga heir?" The brunette with the low pigtails shook her head.

"Aha, isn't he dreamy? If you ask me, he's aging like fine wine." The one with the red lips and punk rock clothing just shrugged and grinned, "I'm glad to see you're in a good mood, Hachi. Is he coming back that important to you?"

"Please, we don't even know if he's coming back, Nana." She pouted and clung to the other girl's arm, her mood completely taking a 180 degree turn. "There was only a blurry picture of him."

"Didn't you just say he looked good? Besides, if you keep talking about Neji like that, Nobu will become jealous Hachiko." Hachi just pouted and stuck her tongue out at her, seeing the train arrive.

"Well, I do care about Neji as one of his loyal fans. He did a really good job before he left the company. Apparently from what this morning's news was saying, was that he made the best choices in style, and doubled their profit in just the short amount of time he was there for. The internet is completely blowing up out of control about this. Even economists are wondering what might happen if such a powerhouse fashion company gets back on its feet!"

Neji felt his pride swell up in his chest, glad to hear he, at least, got some recognition for something.

"But what I'm really excited about is that happens if Neji does come back, and somehow manages to bring the company back on its feet. There will be sooo many pretty clothes to choose from Nana!"

Nana just gave her a silly look and smiled, "What makes you say that, my little Hachiko?"

By now they were boarding the train and coincidentally they sat in front of him. In a sense it was good because it made it easier for him to hear as this, Hachiko girl was practically the only one on the train talking.

"Well, simple, Nana. Everyone will be wanting to compete for first place. So the designers will challenge themselves, S&amp;U Fashion will have to work extra hard and Akatsuki as well just to stay on top."

Neji paused, having heard of that name vaguely before. They started off as a simple boutique with great reviews, but he didn't think they'd make it that far. How much did he truly miss?

"Akatsuki?" Nana muttered under her breath, snapping her fingers in realization, "They're also coming out with some make up soon as well, no?" Hachi nodded, "Aha, but that probably won't happen until a year from now as it's still under discussion. It's also the same place we went to, to buy your ring and..." He let the voices trail off, his mind going back to his original plan and what he was there to do. Once he arrived to central Tokyo, he'd find a hotel or two to stay until he could get the first problem resolved. If, and only if that first problem was resolved he'd be able to go on with his goals.

'_Before Hinata-sama, there are some people I need to apologize to first..._' He thought, pain flashing across his eyes as he glanced at the little pocket notebook in front of him with a short list of names. His eyes narrowed at the first name, already realizing this was going to be harder than he thought.

'_Shino. Shino Aburame.'_

* * *

Sakura looked at her phone and patted herself on that back, happy at what she somehow managed to accomplish. Green hues met eager blue ones, '_I just hope that what I did was the right thing. This could end really bad, for Ino that is._'

"Ino- oof. Ino... I-Ino please let me go. I can't breath." Attacking her with another big hug, the blonde finally let her go once she heard the pleading words.

"Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you so much forehead." She squealed in excitement. Once again, Sakura's own thoughts started to eat her from the inside out, "I don't know if this is for the best, Ino. Gaara and you don't tend to have much in common, and not to mention-"

"Not to mention anything, billboard brow! I've got this covered, although... I don't know how I feel about you having used _that_ against him." She admitted, the shock on her face now gone after hearing Sakura's words.

"Well, you know how we still get a good laugh or two when we look back on the jock strap incident?" Ino nodded her head slightly, only having heard of the incident, but not being directly involved.

"Yeah?"

"Well... this is the same, except worse and we don't talk about it. _Ever_." Sakura's cheeks were as pink as her hair due to the embarrassment she felt.

"So... pretty much sleep with an eye open?"

Sakura just laughed and agreed with her friend, "Oh yeah, he's not going to let that one go so easily. I'll probably pay Kankuro a visit tonight and ask him to be my body guard."

Ino laughed and leaned against the pinkette's desk, eyes shinning mischievously. "Speaking of which, what exactly did happen in that jockstrap incident? Last time Naruto was over at my apartment he had mentioned you didn't trust him that much after that."

Sakura sighed, slightly annoyed once she started to remember the course of events, even if it was quite funny now. "Well... do you remember how Naruto, by a miracle of nature, ended up becoming student council president in our senior year of high school?" Ino rose an eyebrow, catching the drift to where this was going.

"Wait a minute," Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Wasn't he also captain of the football team at the time?"

_Buzz_

_Buzz_

_Buz-_

Sakura thumb slide her phone open and scanned the message that popped up, reading the message in a lazy manner. Her demeaner quickly changed as she looked at her watch, eyes widening in fear, "Forget about that idiot, we got bigger things to worry about! Gaara said he'll meet you there by 8pm and it's already 7:47 pm, Ino." Ino gasped and picked up her phone, clutch and without another word she disappeared.

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she let the events that happened a few moments ago replay in her mind.

[Flashback]

"So, when exactly is the date?" Asked Temari, partially curios and happy for her younger sister's wedding.

"To be honest Temari, we're still working that part out. It's been an odyssey to get Sasuke to marry me, never the less have him pick what type of wedding we should have. I promise you, though, when we figure all the minor details out, you'll be the first to know."

Temari just nodded her head. This wasn't the first time that Uchiha had caused her little sister so much trouble, and she was sure it wasn't going to be the last. Not to mention she had warned Sakura about him, countless of times to be in fact, but all her words just went in one ear and out the other. By now Temari could do nothing but just be happy for her decision and wish her the best of luck. Although, there was something that still kept giving her a bad feeling.

"Say, Sakura... when you-?"

Ino opened the door to Sakura's office, agitation written all over. "Hello there, Temari-san. I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you do me the favor I asked of you, Sakura?"

The pinkette just stared at her in a lazy fashion. "Huh? Oh, that thing about Gaara. No, no I haven't. Why?"

"Because Naruto is still in his office!"

Sakura and Temari exchanged a lost look. "What does Naruto not leaving his office have to do with me not calling Gaara, Ino?"

"I need to have that date ready so I can rub it all over Naruto's face. Don't you get it? When Naruto hears about this, he'll die of jealousy. You'll see." Temari stared at Ino with a blank expression, not sure if the blonde was actually serious, or just playing a prank. The look on Sakura's face told her otherwise.

"Amuse me, Sakura. What is going on?"

She sighed, "Nothing Temari, just that Ino-pig over here is crazy and wants to go on a date with Gaara and she wants me to do it right now."

"Oh? And why is that, Ino?" Temari had seldom spoken to the woman before, only small greetings and such, but seeing as they had been childhood friends it didn't come off as a surprise.

"I need friendly female help so that I can make my boyfriend jealous." Sakura's eyebrow twitched when she heard Ino's words, but didn't say anything.

"Why not? I say go for it, Sakura." The pinkette gave her older sister a shocked look.

'Why does no one listen to me.' Sakura decided to not say anything else and dialed Gaara's number from her personal phone.

"Awesome, use that against me. But I'll be leaving now, good luck Ino, Sakura."

"W-w-what?! Wait. Temari no! Temari, when he comes back, he'll kill me if I use that against him! Don't leave me here like thi- Oh, hi Gaara. Hah, Yes I'm well, thank you for asking."

Ino watched in amusement as Temari had a smirk on her face as she disappeared and Sakura seemed to be sweating. She had to had it to them, these Sabaku siblings knew had to get things done. Well, in an unconventional method, but still it got the result Ino needed.

"If you want to talk about the board meeting with Sasuke, please don't. Save youself the time, peace, un necessary politeness, and-"

"No no no, Gaara. Wait, I know your busy but here me out. I want to talk to you about something a lot better, and more attractive for your taste." He stayed silent on the other line and she continued on, "What are you doing tonight?"

Ino's eyes were shimmering brightly, she could barely contain her excitement.

"I don't know yet. Why?"

"You see, one of my best friends wants to go out with you. Think you've already met her. Her name is Ino."

Gaara sighed, "We'll speak later about this. I have to check my agenda-"

"Oh no you don't Gaara." Sakura gulped, realizing this what Temari meant about having to use 'that' against him. "Tell me right here and now, because I know you Gaara. You'll just end up changing the subject and not giving me an answer."

Gaara gave her that much credit.

"Then no."

Ino frowned and Sakura counted to three with her fingers, "is that how you want to be Gaara, then you leave me no choice! Do you remember when..." The conversation went on for a few long moments on Sakura's account and Ino could only blush every now and then at the words she said. Her facial expressions changed from pure and sheer horror to absolute disbelief, and then back to embarrassment.

"... so the choice is yours, Gaara."

Both stared at the phone in anticipation.

"Fine, I'll send you a text message. Let me check something first."

Ino had to shove her hands automatically over her mouth to try and smother the squeals, even Sakura was happy about her friend's predicament.

"Wait wait, does that mean you're coming to pick her up?"

"You asked for a favor, not two, Sakura. Like I said, I'll text you." And with that, he hung up and the phone and both girls hugged each other while screaming in excitement.

[End of Flashback]

At that same moment, Sasuke walked with a few files on hand, glancing back every now and then. "Should I ask?"

His voiced snapped Sakura out of her train of thoughts as she shrugged, but decided to tell him anyways. "Well, Ino's going on a date with my brother."

Sasuke had shivers run down his spine, "I don't know how I feel about this."

* * *

"Thank you," Ino stated to the random man who had held the door open for her to enter the high-end restaurant.

[Flashback]

Naruto strolled out of his office, and locked it quickly but not before loosing his tie. A flash of green caught his eye, sending shivers down his spine.

"G-Gai?" Realization hit him once he noticed it was actually... Ino? Who was wearing a different set of clothes from this morning, and was touching up her make up? He tilted his head and walked over towards her, actually curios about her antics.

"Hey there, Ino. Whatcha' doing?"

Two sets of blue eyes clashed with the other, but each having different reasons. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

Naruto let her words sit in his brain for a moment before he just sent her a grin with an honest answer. "Just curios is all." Another pause developed between them, "So, do I see you tomorrow, or will we just meet up on Monday then?"

Ino pretended to think, "I'll get to you by Monday."

Naruto only shrugged and turned around to leave, surprised by his nonchalant response she grabbed her phone and pretended to be on the phone. "Oh, hi there Gaara!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, a confused look on his features as he refused to turn around.

"Sakura said you wanted to speak to me? To dinner? Of course I'd love to, eight sounds perfect." By then Naruto was behind her, eyeing every move she made with her phone.

"So, dinner with Gaara, huh?"

Ino hesitated for a moment, "Oh yeah. He's been sending invitations to go out to eat for days now, through Sakura of course. And I've been declining them, but sense you've been so busy lately... and such I decided to do it." Naruto still stared at her phone, something not sitting right with him.

"You don't mind, do you Naruto?"

He thought about something, not so much her question, and grinned. "He hates it when people are tardy and it's already 7:57pm. I think it's a family trait. Well, have fun, see ya' on Monday, Ino."

And like that, Ino felt like she had the sudden energy to run a marathon and conquer the world.

'_Why doesn't he care?! Ugh, this gets me so mad_!'

[End of Flashback]

Passing by a mirror and looking at herself over once more, Ino was more than confident with the way she appeared. It wasn't always that she wore the color green, but when she did, she definitely tried to work it in her favor. Twirling the tip of her pony tail between the index and thumb, she carelessly threw it behind her and walked into the seating area. Her eyes darted from person to person as she searched for a redhead in particular, while at the same time ignoring the soft plea of attention from the waitress that was trying to grab her attention. Finally spotting Gaara, she made her way over towards him, a smile grazing her lips as she tried not to mention anything once she saw him already eating and drinking wine.

'_I'll show Naruto just exactly what he's missing with me_.'

"Oh, hello there Gaara. I'm sorry I'm late."

Gaara on the other hand just stayed silent and gave a curt nod of acknowledgment. Ino just waited, now a fake smile on her face once he didn't stand up to get the chair for her. Realizing she hadn't moved, he decided to finally initiate eye contact with her.

"Please, sit."

Realizing as this was going nowhere, an image of Sakura laughing and scolding her appeared in her head. There was no way she was going to lose, not in love or in business. She'd show Sakura that she could definitely work something out with her brother who was now giving her an icy look.

"Oh, I see you ordered alr-

Gaara cut in, watching her eye his food. "You are already 15 minutes late, so yes." Silence developed between them, mentally sighing Gaara rose his arm half way signaling for the waiter to come, "Waiter, a menu."

"Hah, yes, you're right. I just wanted to apologize because you know how traffic is here. No matter at what time of the day it is, there's barely any parking and it's bumper to bumper."

"Of course, I understand what you mean about traffic _here_. Which is why I leave an hour early in some cases before a meeting." Ino gave a nervous laugh, mentally cursing herself for not being able to see some of these things ahead of time.

"Well, let's not beat around the bush. My sister told me you wished to speak with me, she didn't mention about what, though."

'_This is it! You can do it, Ino. This is our time to shine_.'

"I thought we could get to know each other a little better is all."

Almost as if on instinct, her body shifted in to a contrapposto form similar to The Venus de Milo. She gave him the good side of her face as she pretended to study something in the background, her upper torso facing him, and one leg crossed over the other causing the tight dress to ride up her thigh ever so slightly. To any man in the restaurant, she looked like a bright and shiny gem, needing to be picked up from where she was. To Gaara, she was like the sun: an uncomfortable necessity, and an eyesore because he couldn't look at her directly.

"Get to know each other? For what?"

"For what other reason could a man like you, and a woman like I want to get to know each other for, silly." If Gaara had visible eyebrows, he was sure she would have seen on of them twitch. He would amuse her then, "Good question, for what reason exactly?"

"Oh, Gaara, what little imagination you have. To share some time together, go for a few drinks, and maybe we could find some things in common that attract us together."

"You're right, my imagination was a little dull. Then tell me something, so I can stimulate my mind, and find something that can attract me to you..." Ino could feel her ears starting to burn once she noticed where his green hues were traveling to, but it'd be a cold day in hell if she ever let him catch her blushing.

"What do I get out of a friendship from you?"

Ino sent him a smile, gently moving a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Well, that's not something I can say for sure. It's something that we can figure out along the way."

Gaara took a long, maybe too long, of a sip of his wine and glanced at the time quickly. Frowning that it wasn't moving fast enough and she wasn't about to give up that easily, he took the matter very swiftly into his own hands. "Well, Yamanaka-san, let's see who you are so we can start to discover some common ground," He took another sip of his wine, "What else do you do besides being my sister's friend?" Ino rose a thin eyebrow up, deciding that if need be, she'd throw in some little white lies.

"I'm Sasuke's personal assistant."

"So you're the _secretary_."

She sent him a fake smile, then took a sip of water. "That's a very crude way of saying it. I'm his assistant, not a secretary."

"Where is the radical difference between assistant and secretary; what do you for him that his other secretary already doesn't?"

Ino tried to dodge the question, "Well, for starters I studied Finance in college."

Gaara pretended to be interested and nodded, "And did you finish?"

"Well, no, not exactly. I did seven semesters before I stopped and got married."

"Are you still married?" Ino perked up at the question, not expecting it from him but at the moment, she wasn't going to complain either. Maybe this is where it would be the best direction for the conversation to lead so something could happen between them.

"Oh, ha ha, no. I got divorced a year ago."

Gaara on the other hand just smirked, "So you're saying you didn't accomplish any of the two things. You didn't graduate and you couldn't get your marriage through hard times. In what exactly have you triumphed over?"

Ino's face became a blank canvas, unsure at how she was supposed to feel at those words especially when he mentioned her failure of a marriage. Putting it behind her, she sent him a smile. "In nothing yet, but I'm working really hard to do so."

"In what exactly?"

She could only inwardly flinch, "in life of course."

"Triumph in life..." Gaara let those words flow of his tongue easily enough before they left a bitter taste, "do you know what it means to 'triumph in life', Yamanaka-san? It means to stay alive, and you're doing that already. I mean something more than that, maybe something about your occupation." She quickly cut in, not allowing him any more chances to spit his words at her face, "of course, I want to get my job position further."

"As a secretary?"

He sighed in annoyance, "with seven semesters of Finance, and after being divorce don't you believe you've gone through enough to be starting work as a secretary? Not to mention after coming from such a wealthy family like the Yamanakas and being married to an Akimichi. But you didn't just marry any Akimichi, you married the head of the clan." Ino wasn't pissed, she was absolutely livid at his words. How dare he make a mockery of her previous life choices! Even though he had stated that Choji's family was prominent and wealthy, somewhere deep in the back of her mind she still thought he was mocking them as well. She can deal with all the side remarks and comments, but when it came to Choji and his family she wouldn't have it.

"How old are you exactly?"

"As if I'd tell you anything! So what... you could turn that number into another joke?" She shouted at him, as he didn't even flinch at her words.

"That only worsens the situation. A woman only hides her age when they feel stigmatized by it. Well, it seems like I'm not dealing with a woman who has a clear perspective on life. Well, that shouldn't matter," He looked at his watch and was quite satisfied that ten minutes had passed and Ino looked like she either wanted to run away from him and up to the hills, or stab him in the jugular with the dull edge of the silver butter knife.

"That shouldn't matter, though, if it's about sharing common things together, then how about topics of conversations? What do you like to talk about? What could be some of your obsessions similar to mine?"

Ino just frowned and stayed absolutely silent.

"That's fine, no need to reply. Seeing as you took seven semesters of Finance, we can talk about the Dow Jones, the stock market, or how the company is doing."

A waiter passed by and Ino didn't subtly call for him, but roughly yanked him by the arm and glared dangerously at him, "whiskey. Strongest you have." The man didn't even need to be told twice, nodding he disappeared behind a door and quickly came back with the drink for her. Accepting it after also ordering the food, she drank the whole thing down in a matter of seconds. Gaara would have been surprised and impressed if it were anybody else, but seeing as it was Ino, he couldn't have cared less.

"Let's not just talk about Finances, I'm a horrible materialistic spender..." In all honesty he wasn't, but it was a line he heard his older brother Kankuro use once before, and it got a few girls by him and was an interesting conversation starter. Seeing as where this conversation was going, he couldn't find a better chance to use it. Remembering Kankuro and Temari's likes, an idea popped into his mind.

"You know, let's change the subject, let's talk about art. How do you feel about the last opera season that passed? Did you prefer the Berlin or the Teatro Communale Ponchielli, Cremona."

Ino could only stay silent once more.

"Well, I don't blame for not liking opera. Let's talk about the last cycle of French Cinema... No? Well it seems I'm running out of list of topics. Let's change the subject once more. Why should I try to make a friendship out of a woman who is separated, claims to be an assistant but is actually a _secretary_ and didn't finish her career? Don't you believe it would be more suitable for me to meet a woman who has a professional job and earns as a professional, has never been married, and has a clear understanding of what she wants?"

"Don't you think it would be better if you told me to get the fuck up and leave?!"

People around started to give them dubious looks, seeing as how the tension had risen quite a bit in a matter of a few moments.

"Please, calm yourself Yamanaka-san. I'm only trying to have a conversation with you that lasts shorter than this meal."

Ino leaned back on the chair, eyes boring past him. "You know what, Gaara... I think I'm also wasting my time here. You're not the guy I thought you were or appear to be. To be honest, it's quite disappointing getting to know you."

"Of course- for you that is. What you're looking for is a man who can resolve your solitary problems and other necessities. In other words, a man with money."

The blonde slammed her hand on the table, "Enough, Gaara! I don't have to take your insults just because I asked your sister that it would be a nice idea to meet you. I don't think I deserve to be treated like this when all I wanted was a simple friendship with you." Her face had twisted to one of disgust and anger. "But you're right, there's nothing that can unite us as we really don't have anything in common. We have nothing to talk about." And with that she proceeded to grab her clutch and leave him.

'_Time to finish this_.'

Gaara thought before Kankuro popped into his mind once more, "no... wait." To both their surprise, Ino actually stopped and turned around to look at him.

"What you said is not true. The only thing that we could share would be some caresses. It seems to be the only thing that could attract me to you. You are quite attractive, and have nice legs." Ino jaw hung open, surprised at what she was hearing. "You're bust is also very nice. It seems like you'd be very sensual in bed, but besides maki- having sex," He quickly corrected himself, "there'd be nothing else for us to do but have a simple chat about when to make our next appointment. That might seem like it's the only relationship we could seem to have. Are you interested?"

Ino made it her job to get under people's skin, and she made sure that no one could do the same to her. But somehow, some way, this man had managed to grow on her, like a filthy parasite and she couldn't deal with it anymore. Taking a few small steps closer to him, she let her face be at eye level with his, noses inches apart.

"Absolutely fucking not. If you think your arrogance is an aphrodisiac for me, you're sadly mistaken. You're not that attractive that you can take a woman to bed after you've ridiculed her in such a way on her first date with you. If you think you can do that and actually get away with it, you have a long way to go, Sabaku no Gaara."

'_This was supposed to be a date_?'

"Hm, I guess it seems to be true what you stated. There can definitely be nothing between us. We have nothing in common. We don't even share the same taste in sex."

Watching her turn around and walk away without another word, he finally let a small smile crawl onto his face, more than satisfied with what had transpired throughout the small evening. Taking out his phone, he saw a text message from the Uzumaki head and shook his head in dismay, replying with a simple, _'I think my peaceful days are coming back. The ball is back on your turf_.' Naruto could only reply with a paragraph of emojis crying of sadness.

Ino on the other hand was fuming pissed, '_That asshole! He knew I was going to say that! I can't believe I actually fell for that trap. Ugh, I'm so pissed. I'll show him_!'

* * *

**The Next Day**

Kiba poked one of Tenten's buns and with an amused look on his face, he observed her irritated one. The scene had been going on for the past half hour. Kiba would stick his finger in one of Tenten's buns, she'd say something, and they'd finish arguing to only end up having the whole thing repeat again and again.

"Kiba, I swear to all that is holy, if you don't stop what you're doing right now I'll-"

"You'll what?" And he proceeded to poke the inside of her bun once more, and wiggled his finger inside of it.

"STOP FINGERING ME!"

All passersby stopped dead in their tracks and looked at the duo with shocked faces. Someone whistled in the background and told Kiba to get it while it was hot, while others had a look of mere disgust with red cheeks. The Inuzuka burst out laughing loudly, hands wrapping around his side, trying to comfort it some way. Tenten on the other hand just covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply into them, "Kiba, I will murder you one of these days, and no one will be able to find the body."

"H-h-hey now..." He whipped the tears that were rolling down his cheeks, "It's not my fault. You're the one that said I was fingering you-," Both of them stopped when they noticed Hinata had come in at the wrong moment and was turning red as a tomato, her head down. Instantly they too where as red as her. Kiba straightened up first, Akamaru popping his head from inside his jacket. "No-no Hinata. It's not what it seems."

"Yeah, it's just a misunderstanding." Added Tenten at the end.

Hinata couldn't say the same, but decided to just nod her head in agreement and go along with it. "I see...," She quickly thought of something to change the topic, "Is there any mail for Sasuke-san?"

Tenten just sighed and gave up trying to change her new friend's mind, Kiba on the other hand internally groaned realizing that rumors were going to start spreading around. "Not really Hinata-chan, Ino passed by a few moments ago and took the liberty of taking it to Sasuke himself. By the way, not that I mean to gossip or anything, but is she okay?"

Hinata tilted her head, slightly confused at the words she was hearing. "Hm? Did something happen to Yamanaka-san?" She may have not liked the blonde, but it's not like she wished her any physical or mental ill.

"She came in with this air of arrogance and superiority, but at the same time she seemed pissed about something. I think whatever happened to her last night didn't do her any good. Not to mention she gave Akamaru an allergic reaction or something. Poor thing wouldn't stop sneezing because of how much perfume she had on." He proceeded to pet the puppy on the head, earning a whimper from him. Hinata just eyed them both, still confused about what that had to do with her.

"Well, just in case, be wary of her. She might just lash out at anyone who gets in her way."

Kiba's phone vibrated as he sighed and glanced at the number, "Well, I'll catch you ladies later. Have things to do that need my professional attention. I swear, this company would be in ruins without me." He stated in a dramatic tone while skipping away, and without glancing back he disappeared behind a corner. Perking up, that reminded Hinata of something, "Hey, Tenten, if you don't mind me asking and you know the answer, why was Kiba so against me having my cards being read?"

The brunette paused, not getting what Hinata was talking about but quickly realized what she meant.

"Ah! I get what you're asking now. Everything Kin told him that would happen, happened. Unfortunately for him, they were all bad scenarios. Ever since then he's been paranoid and superstitious." She withheld a giggle remembering the April fool's prank they did on him that he still hadn't found out about.

"For April fools, Tayuya and I made a fake newspaper where we changed his horoscope's lucky item to a jar of pickle. Then the specific instruction on it were that he could only eat a jar of pickles and nothing else for the entire d-day, haha, and let me tell you he, ha-ha-ha," Tenten practically snorted while telling the story again, her laughter becoming contagious, "He actually did it! The guy was running to the bathroom all day long! Supposedly, his body didn't even try to digest."

She took in a deep breath before continuing, "Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure he said: '_All at once the burning fire of a thousand young suns set upon my anal sphincter_' and '_I had just shat out pure stomach acid_'."

By then it was Tenten who was grabbing her sides, and Hinata covering her laughs with her hand in a delicate manner. "It was so bad that even Akamaru wouldn't get near him, and he had to ask Naruto for a ride because he said something about his ass being on fire!" The girls continued their laughter, gaining looks from the passersby, not that either of them cared.

"I think my favorite part is when Kiba tells the story to others and says," This time she tried to imitate him, " '_Frantically wipe my ass to prevent it from melting away like the spacesh-ship floor in Alien._' No Hinat-Hinata-chan, stop giving me that look, ha ha. You're just making me laugh harder! You don't underst-stand..." The laughter raged on for a few more moments, "Even Fugaku laughed at the incident, and he doesn't laugh at anything."

"Hah, oh, I get it now. Maybe you should put fake cracks on the floor in different parts of the building," Stated Hinata, a hint of mischievousness in her eyes. Tenten sat up straight, a bright smile on her face as she did not expect something like that from the shy girl.

"My my, Hinata-chan. Talk about taking me by surprise, and remember! Keep it a secret between us." Waving good bye at her friend, she mentally kept that in the back of her mind for another day.

A few floors up Ino tapped in a rhythmic pattern against the glass surface of her desk. Middle finger, index finger, thumb, followed by middle finger again. It was almost a meditative technique she tried to do to calm herself down. Down the hall Naruto and Sakura walked in a rather slow pace, both talking about the situation of the company and how it could benefit from Sasuke's plan. Ino's index finger stopped mid way once she made eye contact with both of them, forcing a fake and cheery smile on.

"Hey Ino, good morning."

"Hey, morning, Ino-chan. How ya' doing? I'll see you later?"

Asked Naruto, looking over her with a rather intense gaze, but slowly walked away. Ino didn't miss this and was glad all her hard work and effort on her morning look paid off. She still had her signature hairstyle on, but her make up and nails were absolutely flawless. She was wearing a white pencil skirt that stopped mid thigh and had one inch slits on the outer thighs, a dark violet long sleeved blouse adorned her top half. All in all, she looked sensual, lovely, seductive, and the outfit just accentuated her curves.

Sakura seeing what was going on, wasn't going to miss this chance, "hey Ino, by the way, how was dinner with Gaara last night?" Naruto stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, Ino, on the other hand, widened her eyes slightly at what had just happened.

Naruto grinned at her, "yeah Ino, how did it go?"

She flashed him a wide smile, "oh, Naruto, it was divine. We ate really well, the food was delicious, and he was such a gentleman." Naruto blinked and sent her another smile.

"Ooh, I bet where ever he took you, it must of had some awesome food. Well, see ya' guys later." And like that, the Uzumaki turned around and left, but not before Ino sighed in annoyance, "I bet I could have told him I arrived married to him, and Naruto still wouldn't have said anything about it." Sakura gave her friend a sad look.

"Well, let's forget about that. Tell me, Ino am I going to be your maid of honor or what?"

Ino gave her a fake smile while mimicking her, "tell me, Sakura." She mimicked her cheery tone, "When your brother was born was he fed breast milk or cyanide?" The pinkette couldn't help but laugh loudly at her choice of words.

"See, I told you. I warned you how he was. Come on, tell me. What exactly did he do to you?"

"Oh, you know. He ridiculed me, said there was nothing else that could develop between us besides sexual encounters- stop laughing Sakura try to take this conversation seriously. If it wasn't because he was an auctioneer of this company and your brother, I would have slapped him to the after life."

"Come on, Ino. Just forget about him, and forget about last night. Let's start over."

As if she had an epiphany, Ino crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk on her face, and a finger pointing over at Sakura. "I get it now, he's gay isn't he, Sakura?"

"Hah. No. Gaara? Definitely not."

"They why did he act like that around me?! No guy in my existence has ever acted like that around me. Not even my ex-husband after I tried to burn his car down."

Sakura paused, rewinding in her mind Ino's words. "Wait... what?"

"What? I tried to burn his car down, but couldn't. You know what, Sakura? I would have rather had Gaara hit me than tell me all those things. At least it would have given me a reason to punch him back or something and give him a piece of my mind. And what type of guy says those things he said to a woman he just met, none the less. Let me be modest here, it's a bit suspicious that a guy that acts like that and is still straight."

Sakura sighed and placed a hand on her hip, "Well take that suspicion and throw it away, I can guarantee you Ino, that Gaara isn't gay. Many woman have been through his bed, and the same vice versa until it came to a point where he had to put a stop to it. That was the moment he started to work for the government and now that he doesn't have that much time, he's become..." She paused for a moment trying to find the right word, "Selective and demanding."

Ino would have gone with 'an asshole', but she'd stay quiet just to hear Sakura's explanation.

"The woman that he wants by his side has to be one that can establish and keep a deep conversation with him, besides being another pretty face."

"He hasn't found one or something?"

The pinkette tilted her head to the side, "no. Not that I know of at least. Because he's been so busy lately with barely any time on his hands, he hasn't really had the time to dedicate anything to any relationship."

"Whoa, wait a minute there Sakura, are you telling me that the only reason why I didn't qualify to meet his standards is because he thinks I'm dumb?!" Ino shrieked loudly.

"Ino please! Try to keep your voice down. If I didn't think you'd be able to hold a conversation with him, or were dumb I wouldn't have even bothered to set you up on a date. And if for you it was a humiliating experience, to other woman it was an aphrodisiac and a goal scratched off their list." Ino stayed silent, taking the words in carefully.

"Fine. I'll give you that, but the last thing that conversation did for me was excite me. If I'm too dumb for him, what was he pretending? You know what..." Her voice trailed off as she saw Hinata pass by in a hurry and enter Sasuke's office, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say he'd be more than happy with a girl that was like that ugly duckling." Sakura rolled her eyes, her fingers running through her pink locks.

"Please Ino, as if. Not even if you fixed her clothes would that do anything for her appearance. She's got a long way to go before Gaara even begins to notice her."

Back inside the office Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were glancing at the Hyuga head as if she was an angel. Not because of anything love or beauty related, but because she was a miracle worker, especially with what they were dealing with now.

"Hinata-san, go over it with us one more time." Sasuke needed to confirm her words, which at the same time validated Shikamaru's report that he gave the night before.

"Well, Sasuke-san, sure. What I was suggesting was amplifying the areas of production, contracting new and experienced personal, a change in textile or fabrics but we can look that over with Aburame-san in a meeting if necessary, and finally including shipping and trafficking internationally as well to our budget."

At that same moment Sakura walked in, giving a curt nod to all and kissing her fiance on the cheek. "Good morning everyone, and here you go, hon," She handed him the report he ordered and continued on, "This includes all the budgets necessary to accomplish part one of your goals: contracting new personal, change in textile, and shipment info. I included the costs of excess utilities in there as well." The males eyes went over towards Hinata's form, who in turn only looked down.

"I'm going to do the expansion."

"Sasuke, no."

"Wait, Sasuke what?"

"Sasuke-san, please don't." Shikamaru's, Sakura's and Hinata's voiced echoed at the same time.

"I don't suggest that." Hinata nodded in the background, Naruto looked at everyone with a confused look, seeming as if he was losing something important in the conversation.

"Sasuke-san, I actually suggest you rent the utilities, and not buy them. Not to mention you had stated that you wanted to build two new factories, so there is technically no reason for you to go and buy them."

Sakura nodded her head slightly in agreement, catching Shikamaru by surprise as it seemed he was the only one who had caught that. The pinkette didn't want to admit it, but Hinata was right.

"Naruto, what do you think?"

The blond tensed up for a moment, "Well, everything seems fine and in order. I can understand where Shika's and Hinata-chan's concern's are coming from, but the predictions seem to be in our favor. I took the courtesy of glancing over our trades and stock, and in a worse case scenario, we can withdraw them, or sell them to pay for any type of damages."

"Do we even have any buyers, Naruto?"

He looked Sakura dead in the eyes, "We always have buyers, for anything, Sakura."

Ino knocked and let herself in when no one bothered to acknowledge her action, "Excuse me, but the president from Bank Atlantic would like to speak with you, Sasuke. He's on hold on line one." Sasuke nodded his head and picked up the phone, "If that's the case, then Sakura get me copies of that report and send it to the rest of the main auctioneers. Shikamaru and Sakura go and take a look at the south factories and see how they're doing. I don't want anything to go wrong now that Gaara is out of the picture." Sakura couldn't help, but roll her eyes as she just waved at her fiance and left following Shikamaru.

"Is there anything else you need me for?" Both Hinata and Ino stated at the same time, each glancing at the other from the corner of their eyes.

"Hinata-san, I need you to go and hand some papers over to Kin for me, and Ino..." He paused and looked at her over for a split second. "You're good to go." And with that, Sasuke proceeded to his call.

Right when Ino was about to leave, Naruto's voice called out to her, stopping her in her tracks. "Actually Ino, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

Raising a thin eyebrow up, she nodded her head. "And with what could that be."

He gave her a grin and started to walk towards his office on the other side of the floor. "Just follow me and you'll find out." Ino mentally sighed, and frowned. She quickly made a mental note to buy some more moisturizer, realizing that by the end of the year she might have more fine lines than necessary. Passing by Tayuya, the woman couldn't help but stare at the blond duo curiously.

'_What an odd pair_.' Tayuya shook her head, dismissing the thought from her mind.

Dialing a number on his cell, Naruto let it ring, and put it back in his pocket as they entered his office. Ino stood her ground and closed the door behind her. The room, to anyone who didn't personally know Naruto, seemed uncharacteristically clean. There were two potted plants on each back corner of the room where the sunlight hit it directly from the large window and the wooden desk was in the middle. The wall on the left had a wooden bookcase filled with all types of books and old fashioned scrolls that no one knew how to open but him, while on the right side was a long couch comfortable enough to seat five people. If one were to look closely, the smell of Ramen still lingered softly about, the trashcan was filled to the top with empty Ramen cups, and even his desk was littered with random sheets and stacks of paper.

"Alright, what is it Naru-!"

He grabbed her arm, and pushed her against the door, nothing too rough, but enough to keep her in place. "O-ow..." Ino muttered, her eyes wide as she stared at Naruto in surprise. Looking at him closely, Ino came to a simple conclusion: Naruto was very handsome. Sun kissed skin, vibrant blue eyes filled with emotions, and from what she could see a very firm and toned body. Not to mention his eyelashes were something any woman would envy.

"Have it your way, Ino. What happened last night between you and Gaara?"

If it wasn't because of the situation she was in, Ino would be screaming like a crazy love struck fan girl. "Wh-what are you talking about, Naruto?"

"Does it matter? I want to know. I want to know if something happened or could have happened. Are you guys in a relationship or something?" There was no way she could ever hide this from Sakura, and never in a hundred years did she think that she'd ever find herself in this situation.

"Hey, what's up with that type of question, Naruto? Last night you didn't seem to really care, and this morning it seemed like it was an insignificant matter. If it wasn't because Sakura asked, you never would have asked me." She stated in a coy manner.

"Look here, Ino." He paused and tilted his head down, their breaths mingling together, "You must be crazy if you think I'm going to be asking you questions or interrogate you in front of anyone, especially in front of someone like Sakura. The same goes with our intimacy, and our intimacy deserves respect." If Kakashi would have been there, some how he would have managed to blackmail him with it.

"Well, if you were so interested in me, why didn't you call yesterday or ask about today."

"W-well, I could say the same thing. You're the one that told me about what you were doing with Gaara." By then he had left her side and was giving her his back. "The least you could have done was text or call me to say that everything was safe." Ino was practically flabbergasted at what she was hearing.

Smirking, she snaked her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his, "There's nothing to worry about Naruto-kun. We just went out for some drinks after dinner, he left me at my door step, asked me to come over today and I said no. Not to mention he even sent me a text message this morning that I still haven't replied to. I didn't think it was the right thing to do, besides, I missed you a lot."

Moving over, she was now leaning forward while facing him and had her eyes closed, lips partly opened.

Naruto would have gone in for the kiss, but knew better because of who was the woman in front of him. "Ino... not now. Someone could come in and see what we are doing. We'll talk about this later tonight."

Opening her eyes, Ino nodded her head and sighed, "I suppose. See you later then." Closing the door behind her, Naruto took out the phone and smiled.

"See, I told you." He stated loud enough for Sasuke and Gaara to hear who had been on speaker the whole time. This was practically the only time he'd ever get them to do a three way call, and was thankful that they weren't the talkative type like him.

Gaara spoke first, "So it seems I dropped her off at her home..." His tone of voice indescribable. Sasuke just shook his head and hung up as Naruto tried to hold in his laugh. "You okay there Gaara? Out of all the things she said that's what made you mad?"

"It seems I must have a talk with my little sister... about her choice of friends."

After that, Gaara too hung up the phone. Naruto wasn't one to be sly and conniving in a menacing matter to hurt others, but from the beginning he knew Ino had been lying through her teeth. The red head never had really given him the full details, hell any details for that matter, but he could connect the dots pretty well. Ino was playing a rather dangerous game, one that she didn't realize how lucky she was to have caught Gaara in a good mood. Now that Naruto thought about it, adding Sasuke to the call wasn't necessary, but if there was ever any need to bring a witness to court Sasuke would also be there.

Walking out of his office, because of all the thoughts he had in his mind, Naruto almost bumped into a guy and both parties quickly apologized with a smile on their faces. Stopping in his tracks he looked back and tilted his head, wondering where he had seen the man before. He was a fair-skinned man with short, black, tousled hair which fell around his forehead, framing his face.

"Huh? How strange... I swear I've seen that guy somewhere before." Naruto muttered under his head breath as he entered Sasuke's office, watching the Uchiha pass around the room as he handle what seemed to be, a very important call.

"Yes, we understand and can take complete responsibility over such actions." A brief pause filled the air and Naruto took a seat, impatiently waiting for Sasuke to finish, "Actually, no sir. Kankuro-san did **not **do that report." He nodded, listening very carefully to the man on the other line.

"Of course, and we are thankful for everything you have done- who did it? Hinata Nagumo, my secretary- pardon me..." Another pause went up in the air. "Her name is Hinata Nagumo, she's my personal assistant."

Naruto's eyes widen as big as dinner plates, not believing what he had just heard.

* * *

**The Count:** Hello everyone! Did you enjoy what you just read? Cause I know I was pretty satisfied with it. I wanted to show for how long the families have been fighting and trying to up do one another for. I think my favorite part about writing this chapter was inserting the references from other animes and parodies, followed by the dinner scene between Gaara and Ino. Here, let me give you a hint: there are about 5 references to other shows.

**Hinata:** I'm getting promoted?!

**The Count**: Something like that. -grins-

**Hinata:** Ah, but wait. You said someone would die... do they really have to die?"

**The Count:** I think the only thing we have to do in life is live and die, Hina-chan. Ah that remind me, before I forget, watch/read Monster. It's such a good show everyone, it will blow your mind away. And there are really good villains in the anime world, but none as good as Johan Liebert.

Also, what do you guys think might be the mystery revolving around Danzo with the Uchiha brothers? What are Ino and Sakura going to say about Hinata getting promoted? Why didn't Itachi question Sasori as well for being near S&amp;U Fashion as well? Those are some questions that I hope you've asked yourself throughout the chapter, or at least now have started too.

And one last thing, please don't forget to review! It's thanks to your reviews that I was able to write this chapter and open up my horizon on ideas. Besides, reviews help this story get noticed and we want to share the love! Thank you guys once again, you're the best readers ever. Stay safe and stay in school.


	11. Chapter 11: A Time Skip, and A Promotion

**Kennedy: **Hello, everyone! Yes, I am alive some how. Let me tell you, school for me isn't the easiest thing out there, but so far I'm doing well. I finished my critique two days ago so I quickly went to finish writing this chapter, which honestly it practically wrote itself for the second time. Yes that's right, second time. I was originally more than half way done with it by the end of August when I lost the file transferring it over from Word to the USB, and let me tell you... I found the inner strength to start rewriting it. There's a lot of mistakes this chapter, but I just wanted to it out so you guys could read it as soon as possible.

**Sasuke: **Can you please just get on with it...

**Kennedy**: Ah- that is also true.

**Hinata: **Are you going to tell us what were the references you used for the last chapter? And is it something you're going to be doing every chapter?

**Kennedy: **But of course, dear Hinata-chan. Hm, and no, not every chapter. I don't make the chapter revolve around references like the show Gintama does sometimes, but if I do find a good chance to do so, I will.

Party Pooper- DBZ Abridge  
No Sasuke, not the vase- Ouran Highschool Host Club  
The bitch OD'ed on heroin- Hellsing OVA Abridge  
White wig/ Gintoki Sakata host of the reality tv show- Gintama  
The two girls behind Neji: Nana and Hachi- Nana  
Jar of pickle incident with Kiba- Online word post Pickle Joke

And I would also like to mention one thing, which was totally my mistake when I said football I meant European/Latin America football. So technically Naruto was captain of the Soccer team, not football. My bad, a friend pointed it out to me the other day and I was just like, "Shit... looks like I better clear that one up real quick."

Well, just sit back and enjoy. I tried to make the chapter a little bit long, just for those that had been waiting so long for me to update. I truly am sorry for not being able to do so sooner, but here it is.

Also also, one last thing before I forget, I put up my snap chat and Tumblr for anyone that wants to add me or see what I'm up on my profile here.

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Time Skip, and A Promotion**

"Sakura, oh my Kami. Yes, it actually worked, Sakura. Oh my gosh, I can't. I just can't, he actually pulled me into his office, and he actually asked me about what had happened between Gaara and me! He was jealous, he was actually jealous."

The pinkette stared at her friend in pure awe which quickly switched as they both erupted into a fit of giggles inside the bathroom.

"No way, Naruto? Our Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yes yes! That same one. He asked if I had any type of physical relationship with him, what we did, and where we went. Obviously, I didn't tell him what had actually happened, and just mentioned that we went out for dinner, had a good time, Gaara kept messaging me, but I didn't reply to him. And towards the end, he got so happy, oh my Kami, Sakura. You don't understand how excited and happy I am."

Sakura grinned and clapped her hands together, "You know, maybe your streak of bad luck is coming to an end, Ino."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the floor, in the men's restroom, Shikamaru and Sasuke were staring at Naruto as if he had grown another head.

"-please, just stop, I think I got the idea. Alright, Naruto, but why did you ask her those questions?"

"Geez, for being so smart, you sure ask some dumb questions Shikamaru. And for a few very very simple reasons. Have you forgotten how woman are? If I don't show I'm hurt, or interested, they'll cut me off, and I at least have to have her on standby. It's not everyday that you find a woman like who looks like Ino, is single, and has her own apartment and car. Besides, I also didn't want her to become a spy for Gaara."

Shikamaru tilted his head, knowing how that little part of his last statement might have resonated a little bit for him. Knowing both their backgrounds, it must be hard for Naruto to deal with his two best friends literally at war with each other, but at the same time having to pick a side.

"I sincerely hope you're right, Naruto." The Nara head continued on and soon turned to leave with both of his companions splitting up their separate ways. On his way back, Sasuke held the door open for Hinata who came in with a stack of papers and folders toppling over her head. Thankfully she had done as he asked and managed to get everything in tact.

"Th-thank you."

"Hm..."

Closing the door behind him, he stared at the folder on his desk that she had somehow organized. Grabbing the pen, he scanned the papers inside and tilted his head up to look at her.

"Is... is there something wrong, Sasuke-san? Did I make a mistake somewhere?"

He clicked the pen so that the tip would retract and hide. "No, no you didn't, Hinata. Do you know exactly what I'm going to be signing right now, Hinata?"

"It's a solicitation to the banks to disperse the amount of credit we require... no?"

Sasuke gave her his trademark smirk, "Not only that, Hinata, but from this moment forward, I'm going to be taking full responsibilities for my actions that I had promised and my life and presidency will be at stake. I just wanted to state that I know fully well the proposition we made is very risky-"

"Ah, y-yes, I understand. If you want, we can go over it again before you sign the papers."

"Do you really believe there's anything else that we need to go over, Hinata?"

She paused, but knew fully well, maybe even better than him, that there was nothing else that needed to be done or to be revised.

He leaned in, slightly enough so he could attempt to look through those thick glasses that reflected the light and almost acted like a mirror, "Hinata, from this moment forward, the real problems will begin. I just wanted to say... thank you. It was because of you that my proposal was able to be delivered on time, and your adjustments took anything that Gaara said down. I trust you...", a short pause filled the air, "So much so, that I want you to take care of the finances of this company eventually, which is why I need all of your collaboration."

Hinata was awe struck at his words and could barely move, his words resonating inside of her, opening a little lock that she didn't know she had shut.

Everything that Sasuke had stated was honesty, but maybe not so for the most noble reason. He needed someone who wouldn't talk back, who could be able to save them from a pinch, and someone he could trust. He couldn't have someone like Kankuro, so high up in the ranks working with Gaara, even if he didn't have anything truly against the man.

"I need you to be by my side at all times."

At that Hinata stood up and nodded, "Y-yes, I understand Sasuke-san. I'm also very compromised with the plan as well. I say, do not worry because everything will be alright at the end."

Watching her leave, Sasuke sighed and wondered if what he was doing was the right thing.

"I can't sway from my path..."

Hinata on the other hand laid her back against the door and covered her face with her hands, taking in deep breaths and trying to calm her erratic heart beat.

* * *

**Three Months Later**

There were opium dens where one could buy oblivion, dens of horror where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new. The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull. From time to time a huge dark misshapen cloud stretched a long arm across and hid it. Danzo elevated his eyebrows and looked at the undercover officer in slight amazement through the thin blue wreaths of smoke that curled up in such fanciful whorls from his heavy, opium tainted pipe.

"So what you're telling me is that you know where Neji is?"

"S-sir..."

His voice eerily calm, another puff of smoke followed after as the men were more than nervous and excessively sweating. He sighed, but a grin that could rival even that of Cheshire cat appeared on his face. "It seems I have underestimated the Hyuga. Let's see how far he gets. Either fan will set him on fire, Uchiha or not."(1) He blinked and tilted his head to the side, thinking something through as his eyes narrowed at the moon barely peeking over a cloud. "Go out, and find him, bring him back alive. Do not touch him, and do not come back until you have done so."

Not questioning their boss's words, they bowed respectfully and turned their back to the two prostitutes that headed Danzo's way fully naked.

Meanwhile a few kilometers down the road, Neji ran as fast and hard as he could. He noted that a car would have been better for such a moment, but he didn't want any traces of himself in the vicinity more than what he had already left. Pausing for a moment, he shifted his back bag, the contents clinking inside, and then went on running once again.

'_If I can make it to the train station, they'll loose track of me. Just a bit further_.' He thought to himself, speeding up the pace once he saw the station a couple of blocks away from the top of the hill he was at.

Once Neji arrived to Tokyo and set up, the first thing he did was look up information about Danzo. Anything and everything he could find about him, but only ended up finding a handful or articles and pictures. It was more of a mystery to the public why that man had disappeared than why Neji had quit the company and let it all burn to the ground. Originally he wanted to set up his place, but his plans had fallen to the ground once someone had publicized his whereabouts. Ever since then he had been running from hotel to hotel, trying to keep his tracks covered, and if all went well, Shino would be a having a meeting with him next week. Well, not that Shino had known it was him to begin with.

Throughout all the running and confusion, lead on Danzo started popping up, sometimes even more and more frequently to the point where he was stealing some contents inside his home. He knew the objects tied everything together, why blank-san did what he did, and how he could get his company back.

'_Hinata-sama..._'

By then the doors of the train had shut behind him and the men that had been following him parked their car a moment too late. Neji kept his gaze steady on the leader as the train started and speed away, the leader on the other hand frowned and made a mental note to kill him after Danzo was through with him.

"Sir, getting away-"

"I know he is. Let him, he's wounded. He won't be traveling too far, especially with such a heavy car. We go after him at down." The two men behind him stayed silent, saying and doing nothing until he gave another order.

Taking a sit, Neji placed his backpack next to him and took out his phone. He could only swipe through the picture on his phone with curiosity, still wondering who had sent him all those images earlier that morning before his heist.

Taking in a deep breath, he actually took his time to see them. The first one was of his old team mate, Tenten. In the picture she was smiling fondly at a person who was cut off, and still had her trademark buns on her hair. After a long and deep glance, even though she seemed tired, he knew she was happy. The second one was of his other teammate and long time child hood friend, Lee. The picture itself was a low quality one, which Neji guessed they tried to take the picture of him while he was running, or sort of. The hyperactive man was doing a handstand, but seemed to be carrying weights on top of his feet, the background was a grassy one so there wasn't much he could go with that.

"Hm?" Neji zoomed in on the picture and realized there was a reflection coming off one of the weights, more like a silhouette of someone, probably the anonymous person who snapped the picture.

"Excuse me, sorry." A person walked a little too close pass Neji, forcing him to pull his feet in closer and to not have his phone on display like that.

The third photo was one of Choji and Shino, whom both were giving their backs to the camera, but their profiles and hairstyles gave them completely away. They were located in what seem to be a high end bar, discussing something leisurely. Although, what threw off the picture was the bartender in the background giving an annoyed glance at the two. A lump started to form in this throat, the memory of what he had done to Shino's family still leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He might not have hurt them financially that much, but Neji's actions at that time would have given anyone a migraine.

The next two photos were a blur. A giant mess that intertwined color and motion together to make that abstract design. From the looks of it, the photographer was caught at the worse moment, and for some reason still decided to send him the picture. Nothing could be made out, but it still gave a large sense of importance, as if it were a key puzzle to solving something.

"I dislike pink and white..." Neji mumbled under his breath as he swiped twice to see the next picture.

Of course, without a doubt, it would be one of Sasuke Uchiha with a bored expression on his face, and someone clinging to him, but seemed to be cut off. Nonchalantly he swiped once more, not bothering to stare at the cringe worthy face of his any longer than need be. The next was of Sakura, pulling her long pink hair up into a pony tale while seeming to be talking to someone in the distance. Out of all the pictures he received, that one and the one of Hinata creeped him out the most because of how they were taken. It made it seem like the photographer was close to these people, in their homes, where they hang out, and in their most intimate moments.

The next photo made him sighed and almost face palm. For some reason Ino was clinging to Naruto. She seemed to be annoyed with him about something while Naruto was laughing and scratching the back of his head. "Is that... S&amp;U Fashion?" Zooming in he thoroughly looked at the background and concluded he was correct after all, which made his heart skip a beat again in fear for his friend's life.

'_What is going on? Naruto, how are you doing?''_

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro appeared on the following picture, each looking impeccable, seeming to have just finished leaving an event. Not thinking much of it he continued on, the next series of pictures disturbed him in a very subtle way.

The picture was taken in a way where only half of Deidara's and Sasori's face could be seen, but it was good enough to tell that it was the dynamic duo, and that they were arguing about something important. In that picture Deidara seemed to have some crumbled up papers in a clenched hand, while the season's design were on the table. This person was not only infiltrating S&amp;U Fashion, but Akatsuki as well with ease. Or worse, maybe they were working for a third party and was getting dirt on both of them.

In the last picture of that set, the impeccably dressed Itachi was seen walking towards the photographer, but not looking at the camera as he studied some files inside a manila envelope that when zoomed in read, "PROJECT SUSANOO". Neji swiped to the next picture of Itachi, this time the Uchiha was considerably closer and making direct eye contact with the camera. His eyes were a crimson red and a slight hint of annoyance appeared over his features.

"Hm... so Itachi knows exactly who it is. Did you figure our and let them leave, or are you also hiding something as well?"

Taking in a deep breath, he took the courage to look over the next series of pictures that consisted one of Hiashi, three of Hanabi, and the rest ten pictures of Hinata. The ones of Hinata ranged from looking directly at the camera, to having her back turned to it, and the part that set his anger ablaze were that they were in chronological order. From the moment Hinata had her hair in a short bob, to were it was past her shoulders and finally to where she had it now. This person has been stalking them, maybe even for years in Hinata's case.

He wouldn't let this go so easily.

The feeling of his phone vibrating snapped him out of his train of thought, glancing back down he realized it was another message from that same number.

"14118212015? Where is that number from?"

Clicking on the text message icon he then clicked on the number and the picture sent made him almost chuck his phone out of the moving train, but instead he accidentally dropped it and looked around the empty cart frantically, gray hues hopping from corner to corner. It was a simple photograph of him staring down at his own phone, probably taken no longer than a moment before the last stop. That person had been on the other side of the cart and he hadn't notice.

"I can't believe this."

_Ding_.

He cast his eyes to his phone on the ground, seeing he had received now a text message from the same number. Neji at that moment would have preferred to have gone back and dealt with those men chasing him than deal with the person sending him those pictures.

Picking up the phone from the ground he read the text message out loud, "_I can't believe it either._"

* * *

"Y-yes sir, I understand that the interest are accumulating, but we'll be able to finish paying them off by the next payment. Ah yes, that is also true-"

Ino barged in to Hinata's office, "Oi, at what time is Sasuke getting back?"

"One moment, please. Y-yes, yes, thank you..." Hinata directed her attention back to Ino, "Late. He has a lunch meeting with Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura after the tournament ends. Why?"

"Well, the business manager from our main bank called."

"Really, they called? Did they say anything?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest nonchalantly and shrugged, "I don't really know. He just said it was urgent."

"Where did the call come in from?"

Ino gave her an annoyed smile, "Where do you think? My line of course because you've been so busy chattering it up that the calls just transfer over to me after a while. Seeing as Sasuke isn't here and you're taking your sweet time it seems like I'll have to pass it over to Kankuro-san."

"Wa-wait, Ino. No, pass it to me."

Ino scoffed and held the door open, "Kankuro is the one in charge of that phone call, and as they said it was something urgent, I'm imagining it's an emergency so I'm passing it over to Kankuro-san, not you!"

Hinata stood up, glaring at the blond through her thick glasses, "I'm the one who is in charge now of that part of Kankuro-san's job, so pass me the call... please." Almost taken back, Ino scoffed and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. Not receiving an answer, Hinata kept going. "Fine, you don't want to, don't do it. But once Sasuke-san gets back, tell him to pass over by Kankuro so he can explain what is going on because I'm not going to be here for when that happens."

"Then shut the hell up and hang up the phone so I can put the line through to you. Ug."

"Pass it through line two, the private one then."

Ino rolled her eyes and slammed the door behind her, "Whatever the ugly duckling wants."

Hinata sighed in relief once Ino was out of sight and sat back down, "Hello? Ah yes, sorry about that, but it seems I have to hang up now, but do not worry. By the end of the month we'll be caught up with our payments of interest. Yes, thank you so much."

And right when she hung up, the phone rang again, the light flashing from line two seeing as Ino pulled through.

"Presidency. No, Sasuke Uchiha-san is not available right now, but I can leave him a message. Yes, this is his secretary, Hinata Nagumo. Yes, yes. Ah, hello Shizune-san, how are you?" A short pause filled the air as Tsunade's screams and glass shattering could be heard in the background. "H-hah, I see, I'm doing well too, thank you for asking, so what exactly is the problem?"

Hinata turned pale hearing her old mentors words. "Y-you can't do the deposit? Wh-what? We were expecting the deposit today so we could make business with the investors." A long pause followed as Hinata could feel her hands start to become clammy, "Yes, I know we're behind on our payment of this month, but you can't stop that from the- oh, no Sasuke-san hasn't signed those papers yet. So if he gets those papers signed today before noon you guys can disburse those payments?"

Kin walked in quietly and sat down, waiting patiently for her coworker to finish up on the phone, seeing the look on Hinata's face it was something serious.

"So as long as we get those papers signed and faxed over to you, we're good, right? Really? Thank you so much, Shizune-chan. I really appreciate this. Yes, yes. Thank you."

Hanging up the phone, Hinata let out a deep sigh and gave Kin a weak smile.

"Do you know when Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke are coming back and where they are? I'm also asking in behave of poor Tayuya who is dealing with a shit tone of work."

"They're in the archery competition, in the tournament grounds on the other side of town. They won't be back until after lunch, or around three in the afternoon."

"Okay, that's pretty bad then. We're also having a bit of trouble with some clients as well."

"Oh Kin, I know the feeling. I need to get in contact with Sasuke as soon as possible-"

Kin started to examine the tips of her hair, "Well, good luck with that, Hina-chan. If they're at the yearly archery competition, there's probably no signal, and whatever goes through, is going to be silenced. Not mention, it's a really stuck up event, for the rich and famous type of thing, good luck getting in."

Hinata whimpered under her breath, "Oh no, but I need to get in contact with Sasuke as soon as possible, if not there's going to a great tragedy."

"Not for Gaara I bet." Sadly, Hinata agreed with her friend's words. "Do you think they're with Sakura-san?" Kin locked eyes with the Hyuga and gave a half-lazy shrug. "I can go check with Tenten. I'll give you a call if I find anything."

As she left Hinata heard Kin's sharp, but truthful words, "What type of president leaves his company with no one in charge in a time like this?"

'_I know Kin, I know_.'

Moments later Kin called stating that Sakura was at the competition, and with Temari as well. Instantly she jotted down the number and called the pinkette.

"Hello?" Sakura stated barely above a whisper.

"Sakura-san, this is Hinata. I-"

"What do you want? Don't you know we're at an archery competition?"

"Well, yes and I'm truly sorry Sakura-san, but I need to speak with Sasuke-san urgently."

"If I'm aware and remember correctly, I believe he gave the order to not be interrupted by _anyone_," she hissed in annoyance.

"I understand, Sakura-san, but-"

"Look here little secretary, I can't interrupt him, I don't even know where he is at the moment. Call him after lunch." And with that Sakura hung up. Temari was fanning herself gently as she never took her eyes off Sasuke's stance a few meters ahead. The man had hit every single target, no matter how far it was. "Should I dare ask? Who was that?"

"Sasuke's stupid secretary. The imbecile always obeys orders, but on one of Sasuke's most important day, she can't do that. Temari can you believe she wanted me to go around the whole tournament ground looking for Sasuke to pass him the phone."

Sasuke hit another target smack in the center, earning claps from the audience. "Don't you think that maybe Ino had something important to say then?"

"Wh-wait, you thought Ino called?"

"Well you said a stupid secretary, I assumed it was the blonde one."

Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed, "Whose side are you on, Temari?"

Meanwhile, Hinata sighed and laid her head on the table trying to think of a plan, Kakashi walked through the doors, this time, looking almost amused at the girl in front of him. "Are you alright, Hinata-chan?"His voice gentle and soft.

She gently rose her head and gave him a weak smile, "Yes, I'm alright Kakashi-san, I'm just in a bit of a stump."

Telling him what had occurred this morning, he tilted her head and placed his fingers on the bottom of his chin. "Hm, that is quite the dilemma. If this escalates, even our paychecks could be in danger. Why don't you go and give Kiba the instruction, he could go to the tournament."

Hinata stared at the man with a blank expression. "H-huh?"

"I think it's a good idea. You should talk to him, he still hasn't done his rounds to deliver mail and pick some packages up, so it seems like a good idea. Also," he pulled out a manila envelope from inside his black suit. "Naruto needs to rewrite these clauses as they make no sense, I underlined them for him. The banks rejected one of our proposals because of that. Tayuya gave it to me as it seemed she didn't know what to do with them."

"Where do I place these papers?" She muttered more to herself than the silvered hair man who was studying her in an analytical manner.

"I believe Sasuke left his briefcase. You could put it there and also take it to him." Blinking, she scurried to the briefcase and looked through the contents, "He even left his phone," a small smile adorned her features, "He has no idea where it probably is."

Kakashi chuckled at the scene that had unfolded in front of him. "Thank you so much Kakashi-san. See you soon." Closing the briefcase properly, she almost ran to the elevators.

"Yes, see you later Hinata Hyuga." Kakashi's voice was still as soft and gentle as it was before, a text message jotted him out of his thought and soon disappeared from there.

Analyzing the text message, he smiled behind his mask, "I wonder what Danzo is going to do now..."

Half way down the hall Hinata sneezed, confused and almost freaked out at how it seemed someone had called out for her. A moment later she placed the heavy briefcase over the counter as Tenten stared at Hinata with curiosity.

"Hina-chan? Are you alright?"

"K-Kiba... where is Kiba-kun?"

"Right behind you..." Curiously she turned around, and Kiba was staring at the two woman with a look of amusement, Akamaru snuggling against his firm chest.

"Ah! Good morning Kiba-kun. I'm glad to see you, could you please give this suit case to Sasuke-san and-!"

"Nah Nah, wait a moment right there, Hina-chan. Calm down and speak properly. Its okay I'll listen but you'll need to speak slower. So you want me to take that suitcase to Sasuke, right? And where can I find him?"

"He's in a tournament on the other side of town, but no matter how, you have to give this to him. There's also-"

Kiba glanced at Tenten, who was studding both of them in amusement. "Wait, wait a moment. You mean to say you want me to find Sasuke, who is currently in a tournament, mid way? Look Hina-chan, you're really intelligent, but not crazy. Don't make think of you as the crazy type."

Hinata sighed, "Kiba please, you don't understand-"

"No Hinata, I think you don't understand," he hated talking to someone as sweet as Hinata like that, but she still didn't know everything about this fashion and high end world, "going there could cost me my job. And I'm not saying it because we'll be making Sasuke look bad or something like that, but more for the risk of getting one of those horses nervous. And do you know how much those horses cost? More than your, mine, and Tenten's house put together. Those horses eat better than Sasuke himself. I can bet my bottom dollar that they even have a better healthcare program than anyone in this company. If those horses could speak, they wouldn't even speak to us-"

"Kiba please!" Both of the brunettes looked at her in amazement, "Whether the horse dies or Sasuke dies, he needs to sign these papers immediately."

Kiba took in a deep breath and quickly sighed. "Trust me, they'd prefer for Sasuke to die than something happens to those horses. Fine, give me the instructions."

Hinata gave him the sweetest and kindest smile.

"Really? Thank you so much Kiba, thank you. Tell Sasuke-san that inside are some document from the Konoha Main Branch Bank. I already checked the fine print and everything is good to go. If he doesn't sign them then they can't disburse the money which could even lead to us and the providers to not get paid. Also tell Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-san that inside a manila envelope there are the documents they sent to those costumers two weeks ago, which they didn't sign. They need to rewrite those clauses that are underline. Everything needs to be done and faxed before 11:30 am. Then you're going to go to the Konoha Main Branch Bank where Shizune will be waiting for you there to make sure everything is going as planned. Everything needs to be in order by noon today. Did you get everything?"

Kiba hesitated for a moment, slightly unamused about what his new friend had told him, "Y-yeah, most of it, I think."

Moments like that made Tenten be grateful she didn't have Kiba's job after all. "What did you have a problem with, Kiba-kun?"

"Uh, so what do I do after I get to the tournament grounds?"

Hinata grumbled and gave Tenten a pleading look, the brunette only shrugged and looked at Kiba instead.

"Never mind, I'll go with you, Kiba. Let's go."

The odd pair walked out earning a strange glance from Tenten and Suigetsu. Tenten though was happy that her friend was getting a tougher skin and putting matters into her own hands, especially after the fights she kept getting into with Sakura and Ino. At least it wasn't down right bulling where there were many times Kakashi, Naruto, and even Shikamaru and Sasuke himself had to step in and take her side. It was refreshing to see how barely anything that those woman said made her revert back to her blushing, clumsy self. Mind you, she still had a long way to go, but the stutter was gone and she walked with a bit of more pride in her step and posture.

'_Come to think of it, Hinata when she sits down, she has really good posture.' _Tenten mused more to herself than anything as she watched the duo through the glass disappear. Giving her a helmet, he placed his on and forced her to wrap her arms around him.

"If you fall, scream okay... so we can go back and pick up the case." Hinata's eyes widened in shock as she only held tighter on him, her breast pushing against his back. He playfully smacked her hands, "Oi, re-release you're gripping a bit. If anyone saw they'd think we're going out or something." Hinata only giggled and did as she was told. Kiba just kept on taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself while at the same time being thankful that she couldn't see the blush adorning his cheeks.

"I'm just kidding, don't worry Hinata-chan, I won't let anything happen to you."

After swerving through traffic at a speed Hinata knew wasn't too safe, they arrived at the entrance and a short man looked at them with a bored expression on his face, a cappuccino on the other. "Can I help you."

"We're here to see Sasuke Uchiha-"

"Are you guests to this event?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then no can do. Besides, if he's in the tournament already participating we can't interrupt him. Also, my cappuccino is getting cold." And like that he turned around, the only thing stopping Kiba from not beating the man to a pulp was the fact that Hinata was literally holding him back.

This time, Hinata took the initiative, "Oh sir, the thing is that I'm Sasuke Uchiha's secretary and we have some important documents for him to sign." He paused and ignored the dog boy, but kept listening.

"Please, we need to go through, it's a real emergency."

"Let me see what I can do..." Hinata smiled gently as the short man went into the tiny cubicle and clicked on the screen.

"Name?"

"Hinata Nagumo." After a quick moment, he shook his head. "Sorry, nothing I can do. You're not in the system, I can't let you in, and all tickets are sold out- Hey! Wait a minute! GET BACK HERE!"

He screamed to an empty plot of land as Kiba sped away while ignoring the man. "K-Kiba-kun! Wh-what are you doing?!"

"You said those documents are important right? Well, we'll get them to Sasuke no matter what."

Sakura on the other side titled her head to the side in confusion.

"Is that a motorcycle I hear?" Asked Temari curiously as she looked off in the distance, seeing a shaggy head of a hair and a woman wearing mixed matched clothing. Both got off the motorcycle quickly and tried to fix themselves up in any way they could.

"Sasuke needs to sign these papers as soon as possible or we won't have time to get them to the bank."

Kiba gave a bitter laugh, "Hah, sure, not if they don't take us out of here kicking and screaming. Even I would feel embarrassed if they took us away in patrol cars in front of all of these people."

Hinata frowned but continued head first, "I understand, but we really don't know anyone here, nor are we friends with these people. We just need to get this over and done with as soon as possible, or they'll really kick us out of our own company. Where is Sasuke-san..."

"Simple Hinata-chan, just stand anywhere and scream his name out, when he start walking over here angrily, we've found him."

Not catching the sarcasm, Hinata did exactly that. "Sasuke-san! Sasuke-san!"

Sakura covered her face, as Temari closed her fan and smirked. "This can't be happening, Temari. It just can't. She actually came. Sasuke's ugly duckling, Hinata actually came."

"Well, she's got guts, I'll give her that much." She gave a small laugh attracting some side glances and looks from the group of people around them.

"Sasuke-san!"

This time the Uchiha on the field heard her and stopped his bow and arrow stance mid way, earning a few gasps from the judges. He calmly analyzed the situation from the distance he was at, but even though he was bothered that someone was interrupting him, once he saw who it was, it was forgiven at the moment. Hinata was his lucky charm, and indispensable tool, whatever she did had solid reason in his eyes. Eyeing the disheveled woman, without another word he made his way to the now pair of woman.

Kiba had somehow disappeared into the crowd once security was behind him, and Sakura having had enough of the embarrassment shoved her to the side.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Her voice barely above a whisper and hand gripping Hinata's forearm so she wouldn't escape. "This is one of Sasuke-kun's most important moment of the year and-!"

"I know Sakura-san, but I truly need Sasuke-san to sign the documents as soon as possible."

"Look here, I hope once all of these is done and over you not only disappear from these grounds but from Sasuke and my life as well! Sasuke came here to win, to show what he is truly made out of and finally break Itac-"

"I understand, w-wait. Did you say-"

"Excuse us Uchiha-sama, but we need to escort this woman out of the premises right now." Sakura rose an eyebrow as she eyed the security guard, then turned to look at Hinata. "Wait, what? Why?"

"She came into the tournament unauthorized, broke through security, and also disturbed the tournament rules and game."

The pinkette eyed the Hyuga as if she was about to pounce on her, such things were below her but the amount of rage and anger she felt was almost palpable to everyone surrounding them.

"What's going on?" Sasuke voice instantly cut through Sakura's anger and conversation.

Sakura's mood and demeanor instantly switched, "Oh Sasuke-kun, your little secretary broke all the rules to get in here, and not only that but managed to ruin your chance at victory. I am honestly so embarrassed about all of this, I humbly apologize, please just take her away."

Hinata tensed considerably, "Please, Sasuke-san, hear me out..." Her voice sped up, "Business manager of one of our banks called to say they weren't going to disburse the funds if we don't get these papers signed and faxed to them before noon while at the same time meeting them in person for any finalized details."

Sasuke's eyes slightly widened as he stared at the suitcase she carried, "And you brought it so I could sign it... Good job, Hinata." He took the documents and quickly scanned them as Sakura somehow managed to not scoff at the exchange she just saw.

"Excuse me, but could you please let me go?" Sasuke darted his dark hues up to stare of the man not relinquishing his hold.

"You heard her. Let her go."

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't do. She entered this private tournament without a ticket and didn't even pay the-"

"I said let her go. She is my guest." His eyes swirled to a deep red and instantly shifted back to normal. Any other moment Sakura wouldn't have caught that, but this time it would be a cold day in hell if he thought she wouldn't mention something about it.

"Take this to Kiba, go."

She nodded not before Sakura gave her one last glare, "Keep over stepping your boundaries, Nagumo."

Ignoring her, she swiftly started to search for Kiba in the sea of people.

"Keep giving your dog little treats for peeing on the carpet, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed, knowing full well that when it came to Hinata his future wife had no filter nor control. As the months past by the situation only seemed to get worse and worse. "I guess I will keep rewarding her, Sakura, especially if she's coming to give me such important documents."

* * *

**45 Minutes Later**

"How could you allow for that woman to make such a huge scandal, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura stated as she shoved Naruto out of the way, Shikamaru and Temari closely behind with Hinata barely keeping up.

"Please Sakura, give it rest," started Temari and gave her sister a knowing look, "It's Sasuke fault for not having signed those papers sooner. To be fair, she did save Sasuke's life, isn't that right, Hinata?"

The Hyuga just stayed silent as Temari only ended up shrugging once she realized she wasn't going to receive a response.

"Well, if you're right Temari, then what's Sasuke problem?"

Sasuke gave Shikamaru a knowing look, one where the Nara head could tell Sasuke's patience was running thin. "My problem is not with the bank but with you Sakura."

The pinkette looked like she had just been slapped across the face multiple times.

"M-me? W-what? Me?!"

"Sasuke has a point, Sakura. You're just mad because Ino wasn't the one that came. If it were her, it wouldn't have been a problem for her to interrupt. But because it's Hinata, you're against her. How troublesome all of this is at the end of it all." Shikamaru then proceeded to yawn.

Naruto, on the other hand, waited a moment for Hinata to catch up, "Here, that suitcase looks heavy. I'll carry it."

"No really, it's not- ah, wait. Naruto-!"

"It's fine, really." He gave her a lopsided grin and took the suit case in one hand with ease. "And hate to say it, Sakura... But I'm agreeing on Shikamaru with this one, picking on Hina-chan like that."

Hinata could only blush and sigh in dismay.

Temari shrugged, "Actually if you think about it, would having had Ino come be such a bad idea? Now that I think about it, she already had the yearly pass bought, allowing her in and out access to the vicinity at any given point. Not to mention she's known around here as a very lady like persona. So wouldn't have gone through security and disturbing it at least made it somewhat acceptable? Well, that is if she were to have even stopped the tournament."

Shikamaru smirked and gave her a pitiful glance. "You can't be serious Temari, right? Ino wouldn't have stopped the tournament, Sasuke wouldn't have had any credit, we'd be completely screwed with our next ten business plans, and we'd probably be filing for bankruptcy in a few weeks."

"Please Shikamaru, we wouldn't have made it that," Sakura stated back, glaring daggers at him.

"I'm s-sorry to interrupt, but now that everything has been settled and Kiba has left, is there anything you'd like for me to do, Sasuke-san?"

Without hesitation, he replied, "I want you to stay."

"Excuse me?! What? You can't be serious, Sasuke."

Sasuke just ignored his fiance's loud words and continued on, "I think it would be in our benefit if you help us seal a deal with the sisters, which is why you'll be joining us to lunch from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. We'll meet you in the main dinning area in 25 minutes."

Before Hinata could say anything, Sakura intervene. "Hah, excuse me..." Shoving Hinata out of the way, she roughly pulled Sasuke away from the group. "You can't be serious, Sasuke. She's not even dressed properly for the occasion. Especially with people like Yomi and Kagura."

"Does it really matter? We just need to close this deal and we'll be-"

"Excuse me... sorry to interrupt again, but I didn't know Sasuke-san would have wanted me to accompany you guys to the luncheon. I would have dressed for the occasion."

Naruto just grinned and wrapped his free arm around her shoulder loosely, "Geez, don't worry about it Hinata. It's not like we knew something like this would happen, we didn't even get to tell you in advance. I say go wash up, fix your makeup or something and you'll be good to go."

"Naruto has a point, besides the sister's, aren't that materialistic," Shikamaru added in at the last moment.

"And where is that?"

"When we head over then we'll give you the directions." Hinata only nodded as she watched Sakura kiss Sasuke tenderly on the lips, to which he didn't really reply much towards. For some reason, she was becoming satisfied Sasuke wasn't that interested in returning the favor.

"So I guess Temari and I will be taking our life then." Sakura began and fixed the obi on his kimono properly. "And also, please remember your parents are coming back from London tonight. Please try to be prepared for the meeting."

"I haven't forgotten. I've been preparing for the meeting for a while now, _my love_."

"I hope everything goes well in your little lunch, _love of my life_." And with that, the pinkette and blonde walked away from the trio of men and a Hyuga.

Shikamaru sighed once more and lead the group into the general direction of the places they were heading. Dispersing their separate way Hinata went to the females wash room and was struck in awe at the size, and grandiose appearance the place had.

'_Oh whoa, I haven't seen something like this since the Hyuga estate._'

She thought as she made her way to the area meant for touching up. Taking out a light nude lipstick she examined it with curiosity, seeing as it had been forced upon her from Hanabi once she arrived home a giant wreck a few weeks ago.

A blonde girl bumped into Hinata next to her on the mirror and quickly apologized, "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I really am."

"Geez you dumpling head, can't you watch out with what you're doing?" Her blonde friend stated and too apologized. "Sorry about that, Usagi is a bit of a klutz."

"Hey! I am not- oh, whoa- hah, caught it!" Usagi cheered at the end before almost dropped her eyebrow pallet on the floor. Minako only sighed and just took out her purse to go through her belongings.

"No no, it's fine, don't worry about it." They two girls just gave her a smile and continued on.

"Oh Minako, look, I've gained weight again," cried Usagi and grabbed a hold of her nonexistent fat that was on her side.

"I don't see anything, Usagi. I think you're overacting, but maybe you shouldn't be eating so many sweets right before bed then."

Hinata had to agree with her friend, if she was considering herself fat, then what was Hinata to her? Quickly she destroyed that train of thought knowing full well there could be nothing to gain out of such negative thoughts or comparing yourself to others in such a way. Hinata loved her body and the flexibility it had, just as she was sure the other girl loved her rosy cheeks and how nice her long legs were.

"I-I think you look just fine. Don't worry about it."

Both girls stopped what they were doing and looked at Hinata in surprise, Minako's grin bigger than ever. "See meatball head, I told you you looked fine." Usagi wiggled her nose and instantly wrapped her arms to the bluette. "Oh why are you so sweet," Minako sighed and pulled her friend away.

"Sorry about that... haha. We're here to see our friend Rei compete, she won first place in the Woman's Archery division. And you?"

Hinata hesitated for a split moment, "Ah, just for a meeting."

The two blond's exchanged a knowing look and gave her a soft smile, "Ah, I see. Well I'm sure it'll go just great for you! I mean, with such flawless skin, it's like nothing can go wrong!"

Minako silently agreed, this girl had great posture and great skin. That was one compliment Hinata still kept receiving, no matter how she dressed or looked, her skin was pretty good. She wanted to say how not all of it was like they thought, and all the imperfections she had, but decided that genuine sweet moments like these didn't need to be ruined.

"Yeah, I think you're right, thank you very much. Ah, I must be going, good bye."

The two girls stood there almost dumbfounded, "Hey Minako, how do can I get such a nice smile like that?"

Minako only sighed once more, "You idiot, you do have a smile like that, hehe. Except it only shows when Taxedo Mask comes in to rescue you." Usagi pouted and placed her hands on her hips, cheeks tainted red.

"J-Jerk!"

Hinata walked over to the dinning area and gave the men a small smile, to which each replied back with a nod, and Naruto included a smile as well. Quickly seating down they spotted the two young woman headed their way.

"Here they come."

Seating in a traditional Japanese style, all but Hinata looked dignified in their Kimono.

"Yomi, Kagura, you have already met Naruto and Shikamaru, and here is Hinata Nagumo, my assistant." Hinata perked up at the sound of her name and gave a curt bow to which the two girls did the same. They were wearing simple traditional black kimono's, but the material was the finest anyone in that table had seen. It could very easily rival even that of the Aburame clan.

"Ah, it's very nice to meet you Hinata-chan. I'm Tsuchimiya, Kagura." Stated the younger sister with short hair and almost a sweet nature to her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Hinata-chan. I'm Isayama, Yomi." She quickly directed her attention back to Sasuke, "But was Ino not to come? At least that is what Sakura mentioned."

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a glance that ended with all eyes on Sasuke.

"No. Ino is nothing but a secretary."

Now the glances were exchanged between the sisters, simple nods of understanding followed. The waiter quickly arrived with the menu's. "Would you like some time or order at once."

"Some time please." Replied Kagura and Naruto unanimously in a nervous tone. Hinata had seen menu this extravagant before so it was more of a simple manner than anything. Feeling brave, especially after that encounter she had with the young woman.

"May, may I give a recommendation?"

All eyes stared at Hinata, Sasuke was filled with amusement.

"Shouldn't we try the modern Kaiseki?"

"Hm? What's that, Hina-chan?" Naruto fixed his eyes on the menu looking for it through the number of pages.

"It's a thirteen course meal, with an optional wine pairing. The portions may be small, but because there are many courses it allows for ample time to discuss or negotiate anything while we eat..." Her voice trailed on as they looked at her in amazement and surprise. She had a fabulous point, not to mention there were meat, grilled, sashimi, vegetarian, and even a dessert course.

"That seems like a good idea to me." Shikamaru stated, but making a mental note of the situation, and Sasuke just turned to Hinata with an approving smirk. The waiter quickly jotted down the orders and as quickly as he left, he came back with the first course.

"Alright Sasuke, let's get down to business. We've read over the terms of negotiation that you've sent to us, but for us, it's not really a good deal." Yomi began, and from that instant forward Hinata was thankful that this would take so long because it seemed Yomi wasn't going to back down without a fight.

"You're practically saying that we should give you our money and you work with our fabrics, and not only that but you're talking about a very high volume. Besides, is not what the Aburame's giving you enough?"

Sasuke smirked, his direction turning to Kagura. "I knew that if you were to bring Yomi, you weren't going to make things easy for me." The girl just gave him a sheepish smile.

"It's fine, I also came prepared. Hinata, explain to them how our installment plan to pay them back will be."

After an hour and a half of confrontations, Hinata got the upper hand and Yomi could do nothing more but listen because the young woman made everything seem simpler than it all truly was.

"... Alright, Nagumo-san. Then the price of the Yen will be stated the moment our ships from China make land on Japanese Territory."

Hinata shook her head. "No, that would be something unnecessary and time consuming for the workers on our part to have to do conversion or rely on something to keep tabs on. The price of the Yen should be set on the contract."

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that. The Yen is too unstable and we have obligations with banks nation wide as well."

"I understand, us as well, but as the Yen can roll in our favor, it can also be in yours."

"That is fair, but you guys can adjust your finances to the Yen immediately while we would have to do our finances to the Chinese Yuan."

Hinata looked at the untouched dish in front of her and just gave Yomi a smile. "It seems so, but you would have to take a risk somewhere."

Yomi was about to say something else but Kagura held her back slightly, speaking in Chinese for brief moments. The conversation between Yomi and Hinata continued onto the last course, Naruto watching the two in awe, while Shikamaru not taking his eyes off Hinata. As for Sasuke, as cool and composed as he looked, inside he was almost ecstatic that his assistant was holding her ground so well.

"Well, what do you say then, Kagura?"

The youngest heir to the Japanese/Chinese textile company gave her older sister an approving nod. Yomi sighed in defeat, "You didn't lie when you said you came prepared, Uchiha. We'll sign on Thursday."

"YAHOO!"

Shikamaru grabbed Naruto by the obi and dragged him down, "Shut up you idiot." After the festive celebrations were over, the group left the premise and headed towards the parking area.

"Hey Hina-chan, how are you getting back to work?"

"Oh, I was going to take the bus."

"What? No way. I say you're going to go with me."

"No she's not." Hinata's eyes traveled to Sasuke's face as he looked at both of them with a small sign of disgust. "She's going with me."

"Wh-what? No she's not- hey Shikamaru, stop dragging me. I'll see you at work later, Hinata-chan!" Naruto screamed over to her.

"Geez what the hell was that for, and my mom just bought me this kimono."

"Naruto, please just be quiet. All your Kimono's are the same, except in different variations of orange." The blonde pouted. "Yeah, but I still could have taken Hinata-chan home."

"What, do you like her or something, Naruto?"

His ears turned red, "Wh-what? Me? Why would I? I just think she's a fun person to hang out with, and she's super smart too. Sure, she was wearing an over sized pink blazer and green baggy pants, but it suits her."

Shikamaru stared at his blond friend while contemplating something else, "No Naruto, it doesn't. She doesn't know how to properly dress, or she's doing it on purpose."

Naruto was now walking over to his Ferrari that was parked next to Shikamaru's Audi, "Why would she do it on purpose, it's not like she has something to hide."

Quickly, the Nara head changed the subject as he opened the door to his car, "Anyways, the reason I pulled you away is because now he's going to officially give her the title of personal assistant." And with that, the brunette shut the door, started the car and left a bewildered Naruto holding the car to his door open.

"That's not fair. First he get's Sakura, now he get's Hinata-chan. Why can't I have Hinata-chan as my assistant. That teme is going to work her to death or something." Closing the door, he took his phone out of the glove compartment and turned it on to look at the missed messages and calls. Seeing as they weren't anything important, he put on his seat belt and decided to go out for a drink.

On the other side, Hinata was still in shock to what Sasuke had said, "Ano-"

"Just get in the car."

Not hesitating what so ever, she did so and put on her seat belt, while at the same time admiring the intricate details of the Mercedes, which was drastically different from his Ferrari. Although her thoughts kept going back to some specific moments, "Sasuke-san..."

"Sasuke, Hinata. Just Sasuke."

She looked down at the pants she was wearing, "Sasuke... I was wondering what I should call myself."

The Uchiha stayed silent and observed her from the corner of his eyes, unsure of what she meant to say with all this.

"For the past couple of months you've sometimes introduce me as your secretary, other times as your personal assistant and I was wondering what I should really call myself in that sense. For convenience..."

Sasuke for some reason relaxed considerably, unsure as to why he had tensed up as much as he did.

"Personal assistant, Hinata. It's not 'c_orrect_' for a president of a company to be delegating so much work to a secretary, and it's not believable that a secretary knows as much as you about finances."

Hinata slowly tilted her head to look at him, "Ah, alright. So I'll be your personal assistant to the people we will meet for businesses, but for the people in the company I'm your secretary."

For some reason, the way she worded that made his skin crawl, not used to having a woman bend that way for him. Sakura was a different case, as well as the other woman he had been with, but it was the way Hinata did it that just didn't stop irking him.

"No, Hinata. You're my personal assistant for everything. I didn't give you a proper title until now so I wouldn't have to deal with Sakura and Ino."

Her hands instantly went up, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Oh-oh no, Sasuke. I didn't ask so you could promote me or anything like that. I was just genuinely curios. Besides, I don't want you to do such a thing if it's going to implicate any problems with you and Sakura-san."

Sasuke stopped the car, parking it as well when he realized they were on an isolated part of the road. His body shifted lightly to not only be closer to her but also to meet her gaze head on, "That's a problem between Sakura and I." His words were almost icy, "You've done everything you needed to do, from now on, I'm declaring you my personal assistant. The only thing left to do would be to state it to the board and it'll be set-!" He froze completely once he saw the young woman begin to cry. Tears after tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Th-thank you so much, Sasuke."

The great and mighty Sasuke Uchiha always turned into a ball of discomfort whenever he saw a woman cry, especially in a moment like this. He quickly shifted and grunted lightly, not even being able to make eye contact with her.

'_Did she always have such nice skin?' _He thought as he watched her through the reflection in the window. She used the back of her hand to wipe away tears and move her messy bangs out of the way, one hand holding her glasses.

Swiftly, he threw a handkerchief at her and took the car off park, and started to drive.

"Clean yourself please."

Hinata only mustered a giggled as she shakily grabbed a hold of the red and black silk cloth and dappled away her tears.

"Thank you, Sasuke. Truly thank you."

"Hm..."

"Ah, just one more thing, Sasuke."

He stayed silent.

"Where were the horses?"

* * *

**ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN INSIDE S&amp;U FASHION**

Sakura walked over to Ino's desk and stared at her friend's crying form. "I-Ino? Are you okay? What happened?" The young woman, if it wasn't because she had her hair and makeup done, Sakura would have described her as a hot mess.

"The same thing that happens to me every month, Sakura. I didn't pay my credit card and they canceled it."

Ino muttered and whipped a few tears with the back of her hand.

"Tell me, what am I suppose to do without a credit card in my life, Sakura. Look, the tournament grounds only send me insults and are sending me letters through lawyers because they couldn't give me this years annual tickets because there was no money in my bank account."

Sakura took the documents hesitantly as she read over the contents of the letters and only sighed.

"The company discounted a huge chunk of my paycheck because of all the clothes I picked out. I can barely afford to pay the apartment. I can't do this Sakura, I just can't." She whipped her tears away once more, "Poverty is literally breathing down my back Sakura. You have to help me or something, or with Sasuke even."

"Why don't you talk with him and ask for a raise- shit... you haven't even been working here for a year. And I don't think he'll give you another loan as he already authorized two."

Ino sat back down and played with the tips of her hair, "Actually I did the calculations and even if I did get a raise on this secretary salary, it would be like the water was reaching my chest instead of my neck."

Sakura now was starting to get mad at her friend, "Come on now, Ino. You know you can't ask for more, especially for what you do. You already earn three times as much as Hinata doe-"

"I know. And I'm glad I do. The wasn't just the fair thing to do, but the minimal of things. I took seven semesters- don't roll your eyes at me Sakura, and I'm still on a secretaries salary. That isn't enough for me Sakura. It isn't. And... I'm aware they can't give me that much a raise, but what if they promoted me."

The pinkette tilted her head, "Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well yeah, you know, promote me. I'm sure you can get Sasuke to promote me as his personal secretary or something. If you can convince him to do that I might actually have a chance at fight off absolute poverty."

Haku who was conveniently passing back heard Ino's words and just sighed, '_I wonder if that woman has ever taken a government or economics class before.._.' Not thinking any more on it, he disappeared behind a corner.

"Oh really now? It seems like you're going to have to look for another option Ino because our sells aren't doing too well, and even though Sasuke doesn't tell me, I can tell when thing's aren't going well. Can't you find another option or something? Don't you have a boyfriend or something, where's Naruto?"

Ino's demeanor instantly changed as she slammed the table harshly with her fist, causing Sakura to take a slight step back.

"That's not a boyfriend, Sakura, that's an apparition. Sometimes he appears in my apartment, we kiss and make out for a bit, he leaves me with no food, and disappears again. Do you think he has ever told me, 'Hey look here Ino, don't worry about anything, I got the food today', or maybe 'Don't worry, let's go out to eat I'm paying tonight'? Of course not! He's like a damn fox, he comes whenever he wants to, and at the most unexpected moment."

'_Sakura no Sabaku, do not laugh. This is not a moment for laughter, control it_.' Was the only thing going on through her mind as it seemed like a perfect description of Naruto.

"Aha, go ahead Sakura, keep looking at me like that, I know you think I'm an idiot or something, but I'm sure sooner or later Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze will want to strike a relationship with me. I know him."

Sakura sighed, "I know him too."

Ino whined once more, "Please, Sakura, help your poor friend out. I can show Sasuke I can be as effective as that ugly duckling as well. Like see, today is a good day to talk to him. That ugly duckling left early this morning and its already past noon and she still hasn't arrived back."

"Don't stand up Ino, you'll want to be sitting down for this. She's not going to be coming back anytime soon either because she's having lunch with Kagura and Yomi."

"WHAT?! WHY?!"

"Because she went to deliver some papers to Sasuke and he asked her to stay with them."

"No way! You are lying to me Sakura. That can't be happening, it just can't. How could someone like her be having lunch with people like them? But it's not just any people, its Kagura Tsuchimiya, the youngest woman to ever come to power as an heiress to any company in Eastern Asia, not even Neji Hyuga at his young age. Not to mention her half sister Yomi Isayama who is- I just can't. I can't. Sakura why do you tell me these things... I'm already miserable. Why would you permit something like that to happen Sakura?!"

"Ino please! Stop screaming, and what am I suppose to do? You know how Sasuke get's when you even say anything about his little ugly duckling."

"Oh, so you think it's perfectly fine for a woman like that to be eating with those sisters in such a dignified place?"

Sakura scoffed, hands crossed over her chest, "But that's not all, Ino. She broke into the tournament ground, security had to escort her out, and she even stopped Sasuke in the middle of his trial run. Do you know that he literally could have broken Itachi's record this year if it wasn't for her? The only damn reason why Itachi doesn't even go the tournaments anymore is because he knows no one can beat his record but his little brother. And to top it off, Sasuke just doesn't even take it as a bad thing and tells her to stay for lunch."

Ino looked almost worse than how Sakura had found her a moment before.

"Sakura, why does Sasuke do things like that? What does Sasuke have against me, Sakura? I'm the one that should have been there. That's my job! I'm the one that's pretty and took two years of etiquette classes. I should be in that luncheon, not her..."

Green eyes darted away from blue ones, 'It wouldn't have mattered, you didn't have enough money to buy the ticket to enter to begin with you idiot.'

"You... you don't think she's into voodoo or something, is she?"

A shiver ran down Sakura's spine, "Please Ino, just stop with talks like that."

"What? Don't give me that look. You know it's weird. Sasuke even seems more whipped around her than how you have him." Her friend just rolled her eyes. In actuality if looked from a third persons perspective that wasn't Ino's, Sakura was the one eating out of Sasuke's hand.

"Sakura, now more than ever, especially after all that is happening you have to get my back on this. You have to make him name his personal assistant before he names her that, because if not, can you believe she'll be above me. Besides, better seeing me in private occasion and meetings than her."

Thinking about it, the pinkette flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave a small wave of the hand, "Yeah, I'll see what I can do once Sasuke gets back."

Ino on the other hand just pouted and let her forehead rest on the stack of papers below it, staining them with her make up.

* * *

**Kennedy:** Neji lives an exciting life, no? I think so. Lets see if you guys can guess who the perpetrator/ stalker is! -drumrolls for about 20 more chapters-

(1.) Uchiha or Uchiwa means fans, so what Danzo was trying to get at was that either way Neji was going to suffer. By Danzo's hands, his own, or the Uchihas.

I know, I know. There are a lot of mistakes and the chapter feels rushed, but bare with me. I'm just trying to get this chapter out to you guys as fast as I possibly can. Let me leave you with these questions you should be asking yourself as you read through the chapter:

Why did Danzo leave?  
Why does Danzo want Neji alive?  
What did Neji take?  
Why did Neji give a fake identity to meet with Shino?  
Who is this person stalking everyone?  
How and Why does Kakashi know so much about Danzo?  
Who does Kakashi keep texting?  
Does Naruto have a crush on Hinata?  
Is Sasuke developing feeling for Hinata?  
What are Ino and Sakura going to do once they find out about Hinata's promotion?

These are just some question to keep you guys guessing for the next chapter.  
Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait until I can read your reviews.


	12. Chapter 12: Into the Labyrinth of Words

Hello, everyone! How have you all been doing? Good, I hope. I've been damn tired doing too much homework I don't need to do. I guess that's what I get for being a procrastinating junior in college.

Here is a small recap of what's been going on:

Sasuke is promoting Hinata to be his personal assistant. Hinata has controlled her stuttering greatly and has found a lot more courage in herself. Ino is broke because she can't control her financial situation, and our little Naruto might have a crush on Hinata. Sasuke is starting to value Hinata more and more while Sakura and Ino can't even stand the sight of her. Kakashi already knows she's a Hyuga as well.

Neji has someone tracking his every move and took something of importance from Danzo. He still hasn't talked to anyone in the list of people who has to talk to. Gaara suspects that Sasuke can't run the company and still wants to take him out of business.

I think that's about a good recap or so. Like I've said before, I'm sorry for always taking so long to update, but I pull through wit really long chapters :D. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as I believe it will introduce a new character and answer one very important question that everyone has been asking themselves.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Into the Labyrinth of Words**

"Okay guys, that's nice and all, but I still haven't finished watching the rest of the show. Please stop giving me spoilers, especially you Haku."Tenten pouted, her hands reaching over and twirling lose strands of Haku's hair in between her index and thumb.

"I think it's time you catch up, Tenten. Johan is like at the peak of his evilness. What a man." The redhead just gave a dreamy look.

The brunette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Aha, sure, Johan is like the last person I'd want to encounter in a dark alley."

Tayuya smirked, "What? I have a thing for smart guys."

"Yeah I can tell, more like psychopaths but I can let it slid- and oh! Is... is that Sasuke-san?"

The whole group stared at the car. "Is that Hinata-chan? I wonder where they're both coming from." Haku asked curiously.

"From the tournament grounds probably."

Tayuya and Haku exchanged bewildered looks.

"Well, Hinata had to go drop off some document. Of course, she had to return, but technically with Kiba. Hm, what could have happened?" Kin told the rest of the group.

Tenten tells them, "I'm actually kind of curios as to why they're together."

"Tell me about it, I usually wouldn't care, but seeing those polar opposites makes me want to know what's going on or is going to happen."

"Girls, please. How can you assume such things, they were probably working."

'_Haku, the thing is that no one is assuming anything like that. I wonder what are you assuming was going on._' Tenten thought but decided it would be best to just keep things like that to herself. Although, she wasn't one to not tease if she saw the chance.

"I don't know. I find it weird as well, Sasuke-san has never taken anyone of his secretaries in his car, especially one from a tournament event back to the company."

Sasuke got out of the car and opened the door for Hinata who only in returned gave a curt nod.

"Good afternoon." And without another word he walked past them and in the company. Hinata was going to do the same but a few pair of hands held her back in place, surrounding her with grins on their faces.

Suigetsu, from the sidelines, just watched them intently not sure if he should intervene or not.

"Now missy," Tenten began, "do us a favor and tell us what you were doing with Sasuke-san. You were supposed to come back with Kiba."

"Well, he asked me to stay for lunch," she admitted quite easily and honestly to the group.

Silence befall the group before Tenten and Tayuya gave her a huge grin and hugs.

"Oh whoa, were you guys alone? What did he say?"

"No way, that's quite remarkable in its own way. Tell us-?"

Haku placed his hand over Kin's shoulder. "I don't think this is the right time or place."

"Hm?" Kin's dark hues looked up to see Haku glaring at something, and following his line of sight she immediately understood. "Ah, Haku's right. Let's go before Suigetsu tells us something. Let's meet at the usual place." Without a second word they all quietly filled into the company.

Sasuke arrived at his floor and not even five seconds later Ino was next to him, "Sasuke all these people called here-" He stopped her right in her tracks, "I understand, get me on the line with Aburame-san. Right away Ino."

Ino stopped him with a tug on the sleeve of his arm, "look, Sakura has been waiting patiently for you to arrive. She wanted to talk to you."

"Ino, what did I just ask you to do? I don't want to speak with anyone. Get me with Aburame-san, then you can inform Sakura that I'm here in my office. And get something for that cold, you look awful. You might contaminate the whole office." He muttered the last part before he headed into his office.

Haku rubbed the back of his head, "actually I think it would be best if I just went back to work. Sai has been really irritable the past couple of days because of the quality of the fabric. I don't want to get on his bad side."

"Come on Haku, join us, it'll be a few moments. Aren't you curious as to what happened between Hinata and Sasuke at the tournament grounds?"

The only male currently in the group sighed and gave an uncharacteristic roll of his eyes, "Yeah, you guys win this time. Let's go before I change my mind." Tenten, still holding onto Hinata's hand guided her to the small board room. Ino on the other hand, who had just witnessed the whole exchange occur in front of her wasn't going to sit still, she needed to know what they were talking about. Phone on her hand, she unpatiently waited for someone to answer. "Yes this is her, I'm speaking on behalf of Uchiha- No not Itachi… yes. Sasuke Uchiha. Yes I'll wait."

'_Hm… is it a common misconception to confuse Sasuke with Itachi._' Ino thought, the image of both brothers in fancy clothing and scorning frown popped into her head. '_Well, if that's how everyone see them I can see where they get misconceptions and confusion from._'

In the board room, Tenten playfully asked, "Oh do tell us, what happened between you and Sasuke-san? You guys had lunch as well right?" Hinata could only give a small laugh, "Oh, it's not like you guys think. Sasuke-san had a lunch with some buyers, it was after I had arrived with the blank documents and checks for him to sign, so he asked me to stay."

The girls were slightly disappointed upon hearing that, almost hoping that something else had happened.

"Was the place elegant, I hear it is very beautiful this time of year?"

"Ah, yes Haku, you're right. Yes, it was very beautiful. Overall the scenery was very green and luscious. Which reminds me, the difficult part was getting in with Kiba. Because we weren't allowed in, Kiba just drove his bike through - breaking in and we were almost thrown out at the last moment." Everyone all of a sudden discussed to themselves about what Hinata had been telling them in mild surprise.

Hinata just warmly smiled, "if it wasn't for Sasuke-san, Kiba and I would have probably ended up in holding or jail. When we arrived he was in the middle of his match as well."

"Whoa, I've never seen him practice archery, I hear he's really really good, the only other person he hasn't beat has been his brother It-"

"Yeah, you're right Tenten, but most importantly, who was there for the lunch meeting?"

"Well, they were the Chinese sisters, Yomi Isayama, and Kagura Tsuchimiya, and, of course, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san. It seems they're very important and successful woman from their homeland. It's a little strange that they have Japanese surnames. But at the end of it all," Hinata paused "I don't wish to do it again. Sasuke-san has many tournaments to go to throughout the year, and I don't wish to cause Sakura-san any more trouble. She wasn't too happy that I had gone. So I went and told Sasuke-san…"

The blush surfaced on her cheeks so bright that everyone nudged the Hyuga. "Ah, I guess something good came out of telling Sasuke-san, eh, Hinata-chan?"

She only nodded, "Y-yeah, he was pretty quiet when we were coming back here, and d-decided to name me his personal assistant after I had ex-explained to him everything that happened." Luckily for her, that stutter only came back when she was thoroughly nervous. If there was something good about this job, was that the stutter was leaving her and that she was gaining more and more confidence.

Everyone overjoyed, made their way to huge the smaller woman, "Ha ha, thank you guys, I really appreciate it."

"Nonsense Hinata-chan. We've all seen how hard you've been working here, you deserved it."

"Thank you, Haku."

"Honestly, it was about time something like this happened, maybe now you'll be getting paid the same as Ino."

All eye turned to Kin in surprise and confusion.

"What? The payroll has to go through me after Gaara's brother, Kankuro, finishes handling them, then I send them out to everyone. Ino does get paid more than you, three times as much to be more precise."

Tenten butt in, "look she's not even that important. I say we go downstairs really quick and make a toast."

"A toast?" Hinata mumbled under her breath.

"And with what liquor?" Haku added.

"Don't worry about it, that's the easy part, the hard part is making sure no one notices." They all stood silently as they heard someone approaching, "Shh, someone's coming. If anyone asks we're seeing if this is a good place for the next conference."

"Tenten, I don't think that's a good enough excuse," muttered Haku under his breath at the last moment.

Ino walked in, hand on her hip as she stared at them with a bored look on her face. "So weren't you guys having a party? First you're all late coming from lunch, and then you go celebrate in some conference room while I've been stuck here answering your calls." Her eyes staying only on Hinata's shy form.

"I apologize for that then. You may send me the list of callers now."

Practically offended, Ino twirled her hair behind her, "what? You must be joking if you think I'm going to be ordered around by you. Plus, I forbid you to interfere in my territory again, you had no right being at that lunch meeting in that tournament!"

"B-but Ino, there was nothing I could have done, Sasuke-san had ordered me."

"Yeah sure, and we were all ninjas in our past lives. Likely story, you probably went all on your own like the snoop that you are. Oh my lord, look at the way you were dressed. I guess, that's the best you can come up with anyways-"

Kin stepped in, "wait one second here you blonde bimbo, you don't mess with Hinata."

Tayuya smirked and rose an eyebrow in amusement, "what's with that look on your face, you fake blonde. Suprised that we're actually saying something back?"

Ino gasped, "Me? A fake blonde?! I'll let you know I was born with this hair, I don't have to color my hair with cheap coloring like yourself. And please, just shut up, I'm not even arguing with you, you little dwarf."

Haku just gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "No Tayuya, don't do it. Whatever it is that you're thinking to do isn't right." Pushing his hand off her shoulder she sighed, "it's the bitches fault anyways."

Now it was Tenten's turn to step in, "who are you calling a dwarf? What is your problem with us anyway? You know what, this place is our territory, and from this day forth you're going to have to respect us more. Especially towards Hinata-chan, considering she's your superior now."

Scoffing, Ino rolled her eyes, "oh really?"

Tenten continued while smirking, "Yes, the next time you treat her badly, you'll be ordered to clean this floor, oh and relax, if you don't want to do it that's fine. I'll be sure to use your hair as the mop."

Ino only smiled back, "first of all, stop spitting in my face. And second of all, how lovely it is to see the entire group of uglies against me now. Look at that, they even have a leader now. And for someone like her to give someone like me an order, well over my dead body then."

"If you want to, I can easily help you out with that, Sasuke-san has already named her his personal assistant!"

Ino could only considerably grow paler as Tenten continued on talking, "and that's why we were celebrating your bleached blonde."

"I am not a bleached blonde! We'll see how certain your statement is, Hinata Nagumo."

Watching Ino leave, Haku realized it would have been better if he would have stayed at his own work place after all, "Tenten, I don't think you should have done that. Ino may not be smart, but she has friends in high place and making enemies with people like that isn't a good thing."

"I know you meant well, Tenten, but Sasuke-san was going to inform the council and his parents about it first before he would announce it first thing in the next meeting."

"Uh, whoops then. I suppose it's best to go back to our posts now before they say anything else about us. That bomb was going to explode sooner or later."

Hinata only sent them one more smile, "Yes, thank you all for defending me, but you shouldn't get involved in this fight. I don't care if I don't get the post, I know she's just after my head, please I don't want you to risk it. I just don't want you all to get in trouble." Tenten tells Hinata, "no, no, no Hinata. This group has strict clear rules when you mess with one of us. You mess with us all, yes or no girls? And Haku of course."

Kin tells her, "that is true." Tenten continues, "besides Hinata, we've been here a lot longer than you. This isn't the first time that they mess with us. We won't let anyone mess with you, especially when they're calling us something as unnecessary as ugly. We won't let that bleached blonde walk all over us like that. That's why no matter what they say, we're united in this together." Then they all went and gave Hinata a big hug, smiles on their faces.

"Hey, Tenten?"

"Yes, Haku?"

"Why are you so corny with your speeches?"

* * *

"Oh no, she's not Sasuke's personal assistant-". Ino barged in a look of displeasure on her features. "We need to talk, right now."

"Forgive me for just a moment." Covering the mouthpiece she continued on, "What is it Ino? I'm talking with someone important." Her friend only paced back and forth, teeth gnawing at the white of her knuckles and waved her free hand, signaling for Sakura to continue on with her conversation.

"Yes I know, she is quite smart, isn't she? No no, we'd never ascend her to be Sasuke's personal assistant. We need her here a lot more in the company than outside of it." The last part was strained. "Trust me on this, that's the only way we could have justified for that woman."

"I can't hold it in anymore. Hinata is Sasuke's personal assistant now."

Sakura cracked a smile, her eye twitched the moment Ino spoke those words. "No, unfortunately, Ino couldn't make it, and another meeting came up. Sasuke ended up having to go with the other one. And no, I assure you, she's not his assistant and she's only a secretary."

"I swear to you Sakura, Sasuke named her his personal assistant today. She told me she was my superior when I went to one of the boardrooms to clean it up."

"I completely understand Watanabe-san, not to worry. We'll definitely catch up on that later. Alright, good bye." Hanging up, Sakura looked at Ino in mild discontent.

"Tell me this isn't true…"

"I was almost lynched in that conference room Sakura. I was humiliated in there, she even thinks she's all that now that she even invited her little group of ugly friends to celebrate in there. This is literally the utmost humiliating thing that has ever happened to me, they even called me a bleached blonde. Me! Of all people! They wished this was fake." Her hand now had a fistful of her golden locks.

Sakura only sighed, "Is Sasuke at his office?"

"Mhmm, yeah."

"This better not be a threat from that idiot or else this will cost her greatly. If it's not a threat, the one that will pay for this will be Sasuke." She stormed out of her office, Ino behind her with a slight smirk.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was just casually exchanging numbers and princes with Shino. "Actually yes Shino, speaking about that my parent will be arriving back here around seven at night, and yes tomorrow is the big council meeting. Give me a moment," his eyes caught his assistant's form and signaled her to stay put.

"Hinata, I've been waiting for an hour for that form, where is it?"

"I'll go get it right now, Sasuke-san." Thankfully, the Uchiha couldn't see Shino visibly tense up at the sound of Hinata's name, remembering how delicate and honest her situation was. Ignoring her hesitation, he knew Hinata would tell him eventually.

"Actually yes, it's thanks to your textiles, yes yes. Our sales are a bit on the low side, but we are handling the situation just fine. Hm? Really? Well alright, we'll speak later then, I hope your problem gets cleared up then." Hanging up, he kept his sight steady on the phone in his hand. Strange, he never had heard Shino sound, well sick in a way.

Right when Hinata saw the chance to go and speak to Sasuke once more, Sakura barged in with Ino not too far behind.

"We need to talk, now Sasuke."

"What's going on, Sakura… and Ino?"

"Is it true that you have promoted Hinata as your personal assistant?" Hinata having overheard everything just sat stunned in her chair, the walls being paper thin allowed everything to seep through.

"Well, tell me Sasuke, is it true?" Coal eyes clashed against emerald ones, neither breaking their focus.

"Where did you get this information from, Sakura?"

"Where else do you think, Sasuke? When she arrived at the company she was practically yelling it to the four winds and even called her group of friends to go and celebrate."

"Sakura…"

"What do you mean by that Sasuke? Sakura what?"

Sasuke just closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, "Nothing."

"And that's not all Sasuke, she arrived giving orders saying it in a loud manner to make herself look important. She even told Ino that if she didn't follow her orders she would end up cleaning the bathroom floors on all fours, and if she didn't want to then her hair would be used as a mop."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Sakura, enough with the lies. You know very well that isn't true."

"Really Sasuke? Do you think I have to lie about something like this? Ino wasn't only the victim here, but the other girls in her little group of friends were there as witnesses as well. That way you can't even say that Ino is making any of it up-"

"Sakura… enough, she can hear you in there."

"Enough_ you_ Sasuke Uchiha, _you're_ the one that's is practically giving her the company."

"If I ascended her to that post is because she deserved it and she can do the job required of her to do. Everyone who has a brain and a pair of eyes knows this Sakura, the one who overworks and slaves herself for this company is Hinata. Sooner or later I was going to promote her, the only reason why I didn't do it sooner was because I didn't want any problems with you and your little friend. It was the least I could do for her."

"You know what Sasuke? I didn't come here to defend my _little friend_. I came here to place some sense into you. That woman is flying way too high and you're allowing her to walk away with so much. Look at the show she created today at the tournament grounds, I've had call after call with people asking me why your event specifically was interrupted. And there you were all happy and giddy taking her by the hand all over the club."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow and decided to amuse his fiance, "what's the problem with me being hand in hand with her?"

Sakura's frown deepened, "is that the image you want to show, Sasuke? That is why Ino is here, that is her job; she's in charge of public image. She's in charge of what goes on in this presidency."

"If that is all, Sakura, I need you to leave, but before you do, I will tell you something. Hinata was able to raise a deal that almost fell apart where as Ino would never have been able to do that, and Shikamaru would have struggled with from the beginning. That's true, or no, Ino?"

The blonde gulped and decided to not say anything at all, but at the last moment changed her mind. "Sasuke how will I be able to show you my abilities if you don't even bother giving me a chance? Day by day you are stripping me of my duties. I would have been able to take charge of that lunch meeting. I would have been able to accompany you."

"Oh really? Then why didn't you do it?"

Her finger twitched against her side, not having expected such a question. "You... didn't ask me to?"

"Sakura, Ino, do you know who I bumped into? The executive president of the tournament grounds. You know what he told me about you, Ino? He wanted to let me know why you've been black listed from those grounds, why you haven't been paying your club fees, and why you're not allowed in there anymore."

Sakura mentally sighed, she couldn't defend someone who kept digging herself into a bigger and deeper grave with every word she spoke.

"Well, you see, me not being able to pay for this is another issue I needed to discuss with you-"

"No more loans Ino. I've given you enough."

"Oh really? Fine then, give her the money, give her the promotion, while you're at it why not just make her friends who have been threatening me in charge of the company as well."

"I'll speak with her about this-"

Sakura was in shock. Why was Sasuke changing so much, especially near such a woman like that? "So now you're going to reward her, by making her your assistant. Well, perfect, why doesn't she just control the company then, let her fire Ino and then me as well. Really think about that one Sasuke." Sakura just walked away, Ino close behind her with a small smile.

Once the doors closed her gently rubbed his temples in a circular motion.

"Hinata, get out here."

Doing as she asked, his tone only became cold and distant, "Hinata, what have you been saying? Didn't I tell you not to say anything about your promotion before I talked to the council?

"Sasuke I can explain that that is what I wanted to speak with you about."

"I just need an explanation as to why you arrived threatening everyone, Hinata. Especially saying you were going to fire the queen of this company, Ino." He mentally sighed and realized how inaccurate that whole statement sounded and tone returned to its regular one.

"Fine, explain it to me clearly Hinata."

Hinata takes a deep breath and calmly began, "Ino entered the conference room vert angry and upset, she began verbally attacking me and saying I was a snoop. That I had no right to go to the club and that it was her job. That's when my friends reacted to defend me and one of them to mortify her, called her a bleached blonde, and another a blonde bimbo."

Sasuke wasn't one for name calling, but he could see where they were coming from.

"That's when another friend, to tease her told her I was your personal assistant and her superior so she had to listen to everything I said. So to mortify her, she continued on saying that if I wanted to, I could her fired."

"That means that you said nothing and it was all your friends?"

Hinata thought about it for a moment and slowly nodded, "well, yes, that is correct but I will take full responsibility for all of them. The problem that Ino has been with me, I'll the pay the cost of it. No one else should."

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

"Go get that call, Hinata."

Without a second to spare she went to attend to it, Sasuke, on the other hand, smirked and took out his phone, receiving a text message from three numbers, all talking about a separate thing but the same subject. Coincidentally, Kakashi sent him a text message as well, a most amusing one as well.

Hinata quickly walked out again, "Excuse me, Hatake-san needs me in one of the boardrooms."

"For what?"

"He didn't say, excuse me." Without another word she left.

Inside the boardroom, the rest of the girls were there, and coincidentally an annoyed Haku as well. Meanwhile Ino and Sakura where talking up a storm to Kakashi who seemed to be backed up against a wall, hands in front of him for protection. From what could be seen clear on his face, this seemed like one of the last places he wanted to be in.

Once Sakura saw that Hinata entered the room, she took a deep breath and asked everyone to sit down, to which only her and Ino did. The rest of the girls and Haku in the room were too on edge to do anything then but stand.

"Good afternoon everyone, now I have brought you all here because you are employees who have gone way beyond your duties, and are now manipulating powers you do not have."

"If I may, Sakura-san, can I just say that it is not true?"

"Tenten I am speaking. As I was saying, this is why I have brought Hatake-san here today to remind you all of your positions. This also concerns the hours of your job. Go ahead Hatake-san." Kakashi just gave them all an apologetic look and took a step forward.

"It has come to our attention, that as of late and more frequently now, you all have been returning an hour late from lunch. With the simple exclusion of Hinata who today was with Sasuke."

Sakura tried to not roll her eyes, but quickly let it go.

"On your contract, it is clear that your lunch starts at 1 and you must be back before 2 pm or exactly at the stated time. Since there have been numerous occasions that you all have forgotten this, sadly 24 hours worth of money will be deducted from your salary to cover that cost."

"What?!" Kin and Tayuya shouted in unison, neither happy with what they were hearing.

Kakashi just swayed from foot to foot, glancing quickly between Sakura's steady form and the rest of the girls, "Plus, on your paperwork a formal complaint against you will be placed inside. Which is technical, one call of attention. And like I said before, Hinata you won't get this because you were with Sasuke at the moment."

"Actually, there will be a complaint, Kakashi." All eyes were now on Sakura who had her hand up in the air, earning everyone's attention. Even Ino was curious to see where this was going.

"Have you heard in any way, shape, or form that Nagumo-san over here has been promoted as Sasuke's personal assistant by either myself, Sasuke, or any of the share holders or councilmen?"

Kakashi shook his head in disagreement. "No, not at any moment."

"Good. Then you, Hinata Nagumo, are not allowed to comment on a promotion that has not been authorized yet, plus you will not be allowed to threaten anyone with powers you do not possess."

And for some odd reason to Hinata, Sakura just shifted to a firm image of Hiashi. It was so bad Hinata couldn't even keep making eye contact, her eyes closing momentarily as she took in a deep breath.

"I'm s-sorry, Sakura-san, but I have not done such a thing."

"I'm speaking right now, and as for the incidents that occurred in the board room, Kakashi has some comments to say about that."

To the girls and Haku it was more than obvious the silvered hair man was being forced to do this, but like them, his job was probably on the line as well.

"The rules of this company are very clear. It is even clearly stated that no one is allowed to be harassed and threatened by anyone like the way Yamanaka Ino was done so today. That is why, Hinata you will also have a call of attention on your file. And as a reminder to you all, three strikes and you're fired."

Haku stepped forward, not liking at all where this was going. "Pardon me, sir, Hinata wasn't alone when that supposed fight happened. We were all there as well. Not to mention, she didn't even speak a word, it was all me-"

Hinata shifted around a little too fast, more than surprised at her friend's words, the rest of the girls as well. "H-Haku-san! No, really it's okay. I'll take full responsibility."

"Honestly, Hinata did nothing, I was the one that fucking threatened her." Tayuya's brown eyes clashed against blue ones. "If anything, she wasn't threatened by Hinata, she was threatened by everything that we all said."

The group started to chat with one another as Kakashi tilted his head to the side watching them bicker about who should get the call of attention. Sakura, more than done with the situation slammed her hands against the table. "If that's how it is, then perfect. All of you get another call of attention."

Hinata quickly stood up, bowing deeply as well. "No, please Sakura-san!"

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her look up to meet Tenten's smiling face. "It's okay, don't worry about it." The brunette's attention then shifted over to Sakura. "Fine, we'll take it, but explain to us the threat or threats that we made against her. Besides, we never touched her because if we would have, you'd have seen it."

"In fact, you'd be visiting her grave." Tayuya finished for Tenten.

"Yes, those physical wounds must be so deep, Ino-san." Even Haku was starting to like where this was going, all eyes on the Yamanaka.

"Enough, you all know very well that the threat just doesn't mean physical, but emotional as well. It also deals with verbal threats and manipulation."

Kin and Tayuya shared a look, now it was a free for all to see who could take the blame of Hinata. "I'm so sorry I called her a blonde bimbo."

"I'm so sorry I said I was going to mop the floor using her hair."

"Like Kin and Tayuya, I'm so so sorry I called her a bleached blonde."

Haku sighed and placed his hands, one on Tayuya's shoulder, and the other on Kin's. "Enough, can't you see that's exactly what Sakura wants? At the rate we're going she's going to fire us all, which deep down is what they both really want."

Hinata's, and Ino's mouth hung slightly open as Kakashi covered his masked mouth and the rest of the girls looked at him in slight shock. Sakura, on the other hand, rose an eyebrow and didn't move a muscle, but what flashed across her eyes was something completely different to what she was physically showing. The pinkette didn't know how exactly to feel. She was angry at the way Haku had spoken about them, but at the same moment amused he had the gall to say something like that.

Haku decided to cut the silence he once started a few moments ago. "What? It's true. They're going to do it sooner or later, so might as well give us all our second call of attention now. It'll save us another meeting like this." His face had twisted to one of disgust, not only for Sakura's actions but Ino's words.

Sasuke sighed as he opened the doors, Naruto behind him with a curios expression that turned to a frown once he saw the down look on Hinata's face. "Oi teme, what's going on?" His blue eyes scanned the room quickly, taking everything in. From Hinata's slightly shaky for to the angry looks the three girls had and Haku's disappointed look.

"Enough. I'm calling a stop to this meeting as well."

Sakura could feel her blood pressure starting to raise, "Sasuke, please. This is an administration meeting's problem, please don't come in here and get yourself mixed in, in all of this. Let's just follow the same orders this company has been using for years."

His eyes darted over her tense form, knowing full well it'd be another night of arguments at this rate. "No, I have been listening in and felt the need to step in."

Naruto rolled his eyes, '_Sasuke you are more dramatic than you lead on. Your ear was practically glued on to that door before I passed by_.'

"I believe there's something missing in all of this. Kakashi did they ever mention the words: blonde bimbo, or I'm going to mop the floor with her hair?" Kakashi just gave a curt nod. "Then I want you to consider other terminology like snoop, or insulting someone based on their condition and telling said, person, they don't have the presence to be in a place that she doesn't belong."

Ino just looked down at her perfectly manicured french nails, making sure she didn't flinch.

"Sorry Sasuke-san, if only she would have had the decency to use that terminology. Ino had no right to tell Hinata, that she had no right to enter such a fancy place. Wearing that awful outfit is pretty much all she could amount to wear, was what she ended up saying." Sasuke's eyes traveled from Tenten's big eyes to Ino's who were looking down, "you were only so discrete in your words Hinata. What is your opinion Kakashi?"

"I think Ino should-"

"No one's asked for your opinion Naruto." Spoke everyone in unison beside Hinata who just gave him the faintest of reassuring smiles to the now blushing man. Naruto loosened his tie, unsure of what was becoming of him.

"Ino Yamanaka will also get a letter of attention in her file."

"Good, Kakashi. Seeing as we're being strict with the time of work, I'd like to point out that she too, has been late of various occasions."

"Then she will get taken money out of her salary as well." All of a sudden the girls and Haku didn't find the punishment so bad, knowing full well it would hurt her more than it ever would for them. Ino stood up in a wobbly and weak manner, as Sakura couldn't dare look at either Ino or Sasuke.

"No, no, no Kakashi, I don't want any more demonstrations. I also want to inform you all that I am putting down a new rule to this little game." His eye shifted to a red color and quickly turned back making Hinata's heart skip a bit. "Now Ino, if you happen to ever come late. Even by one minute, you will have to report to Kakashi at once. You will then get your pay reduced, plus another letter of attention. The rules of this company are for everyone. One more thing Kakashi, you'll be getting on your desk a memorandum from my part that Nagumo Hinata, has officially been named my personal assistant."

* * *

"I can't believe that Sasuke did that to us, Sakura!" By now the two best friends were in Sakura's office sitting down contemplating what had happened an hour ago.

"I can't believe what you did to me, Ino!"

The girl jolted up at the anger in Sakura's tone, azure eyes wide in surprise.

"You told me that Hinata had threatened you, not her friends. You don't even know how much trouble I'm in with Sasuke now because of your little blunder."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Please, who cares if it's Hinata or her friends, they're all practically the same. If it wasn't for Haku's beauty, they'd be called the ugly squad or something. Besides, didn't you notice how over one little promotion they all got super happy for nothing? Oh! I know, I'll pressure Sasuke by telling him I'm going to quit."

Sakura could only shake her head in disagreement at her friend's words. Maybe it was because of things like that, that Choji had left her.

"Oh no, don't do that Ino. That one will definitely scare him." Ino nodded happily, completely having Sakura's sarcasm fly over her head. "Yeah, haha, he'll be on his knees begging... you to get the hell out of this company as soon as you possibly can."

Ino just sighed and crossed her arms, "Then what the hell am I suppose to do?"

"How about you actually do your job for once Ino?"

The blonde tried her hardest to not roll her eyes and stood up straight, another idea popping into her head. Grinning from ear to ear, she quietly left Sakura alone to get ride of her headache.

Meanwhile, back at her office Hinata covered her face with her hands, a blush spread down all the way to her neck and nothing was working to calm herself down. She couldn't control the excitement and bliss she felt. Sasuke to her was really causing her to feel things that she didn't know she could feel again.

"Okaa-san, what would you do in this situation?" Her head was tilted back, eyes closed as she suddenly felt a wave of calmness come over her and smiled to herself. "It's okay Hinata, you can do this. One step at a time." Shaking her head, she couldn't shake that smile off and just went on to her new task. Sitting down, she dialed Kankuro's number, "Hello Kankuro-san, I need the bank statements as soon as possible, please."

Kankuro smirked and easily agreed, "Not a problem." Hanging up, he quickly glanced over the papers once more and send it to the brooding Kin who just happened to be passing by. "Here, give these to Sasuke's secretary."

Kin scoffed, "Hinata right?"

He shrugged, "Yeah?"

Watching her go, he turned around to go back into his office and came face to face with someone he wasn't expecting to see.

"Ino."

"Kankuro-kun."

"What do you want?"

She smiled, "Oh, you know, I just wanted to tell you that Sasuke has now named Hinata Nagumo his new personal assistant. If she did so much as his secretary can you imagine what she'll do with her new position?"

Kankuro's eyes widened then narrowed into dangerous slits. "Oh, you don't say?"

"That means we're on the same boat and we better find a fucking solution to her real quickly."

Feeling his phone vibrate he read the letters that popped up and sighed, "Okay, leave me alone for now. I need to get my work done." Annoyed by his words and lack of tact she left the man, but not before looking back once more and seeing him enter his office, closing the door shut behind him.

"Hello, Gaara? Yes, the meeting is already set up for tomorrow."

Gaara was not in a good mood, a certain red- headed cousin of his had come to visit and the only thing he knew what to do was gloat. Which gloating for Sasori was poking fun of his insecurities. "Very good, so tell me how are things going over there? How are things going for Sasuke? I just want to be very prepared, do you think he's going to be able to reach his goals?"

Kankuro sat down and sighed. "Like you already know, that woman and he have me on the outs. All I end up doing is signing the checks, and on occasion see what they're up to with the banks. Apparently they're asking for a lot of loans. He's going through them like a mad man."

Gaara asked, not at all surprised at his older brother's words. "How goes the investments?"

"Look, money is coming in but going out very quickly, I'm not sure what it's for. What I can tell you is that the sales aren't rising like Sasuke hoped they'd do. At least, that's what I'm getting from the rumors around in the corridors."

Gaara tells him, "I repeat Kankuro, will Sasuke reach his goal, the one's that he made?" Closing his eyes and glancing over at the empty computer screen, he decided a somewhat of a decisive answer was better than nothing. "Quite frankly, the answer is no."

As Hinata was working away, Sasuke came in and even though he was in front of her she hadn't noticed him. It was actually quite amusing to him how concentrated she was at her task. "Hinata…" He gave her a moment to calm down from the ten-foot jump she gave once she heard his name, "How is the form coming along? We only have less than 24 hours."

Hinata eyes darted from the screen and then back to him, she could sugar coat it, but that wouldn't get them anywhere. "Sasuke-san… it seems like you won't be able to reach the goal you wanted, there's just no way to do it." Letting the information sink in, he practically hit Naruto and Shikamaru when they walked in talking about something having to do with Ino.

"Hey, what's going on? Hey, Hina-chan." Naruto's smile faltered for a small moment when we realized she hadn't properly acknowledged him and her attention was still focused on Sasuke's form.

_'Why do I care. I mean, it's not like we're close or anything. She's not even my secretary, ha hah hah.'_

"Hinata, I can't show these figures to the council members. Gaara is going to have my head for that."

Listening to Sasuke's words, Shikamaru could tell they would be in for quite the ride at this rate. "What? I'm confused, who died?"

"Sasuke's funeral will the best if he doesn't figure something out soon, Naruto." A yawn escaped the Nara's mouth.

"Wait, I'm still confused." The blond looked at all of them, still not getting an answer until Shikamaru quickly responded to him. "Hinata, why don't you explain? You're better at the math portion of all of these than we are."

Taking a deep breath, the Hyuga began. "Like you know, Naruto-kun, the figures for this semester didn't pan out as was hoped." He nodded his head, "But they aren't that bad to sound the alarms or wave the white flag that around."

"Well, yes, they weren't that bad, but they have really taken a tool on Sasuke-san's goal. In other words, if he hadn't set those high goals, we could have easily presented a satisfactory result to the council members. And yes, the debt is still acceptable, and yes the company as a whole did grow as well as keeping a good net profit even though the sales of profit have declined. The real problem dwells in Sasuke-san's goal. In fact, we will never reach the simple 18 billion dollars, not even reaching the original 20 billion that was the goal."

Naruto just stared at her, "just to make sure, that's a no right?"

Hinata sadly nodded. "The figures would have to be re-crunched. They have to be very drastic and I don't know if they will benefit the company. I would have to reanalyze them."

"But the company is running well. Sasuke look, I know even if their goal hasn't been reached we can still show your figures as is. We can say in two months they will grow, it'll give us time to think of something."

"Naruto, haven't you realized who we're fighting against? We're fighting Sabaku no Gaara. He won't buy that story. As soon as we show him the figures we will sit down and analysis them."

'_And like that, we'll have our heads chopped off our bodies_.'

"Well then what're we gonna' do?"

Shikamaru looked between Hinata and Sasuke, unsure if he should even suggest such a thing. "Manipulate the forms."

Said people looked up at him, Hinata speaking first. "E-excuse me, Shikamaru-san?"

"Hinata, you know perfectly well what I mean. I'm talking about manipulating the figures. We know we can't reach that goal, now Hinata don't give me that look. All the companies do the same thing, it's to buy us some time from the council. We're not even lying or cheating, but putting ahead what everything will be like."

"I-I d-don't know h-how I feel a-about this…" All three men gave each other knowing looks and stayed silent as she kept to herself thinking. "Sasuke-san it's quite risky if they found out." She finally answered, still unsure of what she should really do.

Shikamaru took in a deep breath, smiling to himself that a third of the match had been won already. "How close is Kankuro with the movements of the financial sector here in the company?"

"Next to nothing. He should only be checking the stock market and signing pay rolls. He doesn't know where the money is coming from, nor where it is going. He's not even in touch with production or the sales figures, I have excluded him from everything."

Hinata took over. "Inside my computer, everything should be safe. I-I'll do it, on the one condition that you give me all the information I might need."

Sasuke nodded his head, a look of determination on his features, "You heard her, Shikamaru, Naruto. What do you need?"

Shikamaru stopped him, "before we do anything else I believe we should also include in the form our future sales numbers, like we already closed on the deal. We could say we closed two deals with Fashion Group, each for about 50 million. It hasn't happened yet but in our troublesome situation it seems like the best course to take."

"That's fine," even though Hinata knew it would just end up with her having to do more work for the sake of authenticity.

Naruto responded first, saluting her as he opened the door and saw the last person he was expecting to see. "G-Gaara! Hey man." The rest of the people in the room visibly tensed as Hinata quickly and swiftly hid some of the paperwork from plain sight. Gaara gave a curt nod and side stepped him, "Good evening everyone. Relax, I'm not death."

Sasuke smirked and stood up, "No no, you're like the bride of death. So tell us, Gaara, what brings you here."

"I want to read that form that you're going to present to the council. You know how loud everyone will be with the discussion, lunch and so on. You just don't have the time to read a form that takes your full attention."

Sasuke's eyes swirled red for a split second, "Gaara, I won't be able to give you the pleasure of reading that form now. I'll give it to you tomorrow at the meeting."

Gaara tilted his head slightly back, looking at him through his long lashes, "how little courtesy of you to not show that form to one of its investors."

Shikamaru decided it was time for him to step in, "oh it has nothing to do with courtesy, you know it's just that we're correcting some small errors."

"Not finished yet, why is that? What, haven't had the time to change all the figures or have the gains gone down? Remember what happens if you can't reach your goals Sasuke." His green hues traveled to all of the people in the small room, before lasting one last moment on Hinata's form who seemed to squirm uncomfortably under his gaze.

"O-oH yeah, well you know what Gaara, I'll give you the answer to all your questions! Aha, yes the sale figures were down for a moment, which happens all the time. But now they're slowly growing back to how they normally were and will increase so much your ego and gut will explode because you won't even be able to support it. Ha ha ha, believe it."

"Naruto… you have such a lying face, in fact you all do. I hope your God hears you Sasuke because my family's capital is in your hand. Seeing as we'll see one another tomorrow, try not to work through the night." Leaving right after that, Naruto quickly closed the door and whipped away some sweat that was trickling down his neck with the back of his hand.

"That man was out for blood, he wouldn't come here for just anything."

Shikamaru sighed yet again and scratched the back of his head, "someone could have told him about our sales figures. He must know we're in trouble. Look, from now on we must watch our back more than ever. It would be preferably for you to have it done by 9am so that all three of us could revise it."

Hinata just shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Shikamaru-san, I must be frank with you, Gaara-san and Kankuro-san are going to revise these figures one by one. This form must be done very well, if they want to revise the account they would have to check every form from every department which mean that we also have to manipulate those numbers as well."

"She's right, if we are to present a fake form, it has to be done correctly. Geez, what a drag this all had come out to."

Sasuke nodded his head, "at what time would it be done then?"

Looking over the papers in her desk and skimming the desktop of her computer she made a rough estimate. "Noon should be good."

Standing it up, he angrily slammed his open palms against her desk. "No Hinata. I'll be a dead man by then."

She stood her ground, pushing her glasses up and meeting him eye to eye. "I can't promise you to have it ready early. It's impossible, I would even have to harder just to get done by noon." The three men in the room exchanged worried looks, time was running out and they needed to figure something out as soon as possible.

* * *

Itachi glanced at himself in the mirror and then looked down at his shoes while he let out another deep sigh. It was going to be a long long afternoon. His second uncle, removed or something along those lines, wanted to speak with him today about some important news. For the love of him, he couldn't understand why, especially after he had left the company his little brother was currently running and was on the rivaling family team.

Being honest, Itachi actually quite enjoyed the way the black formal suit, white buttoned down, and red tie adorned his body. It gave him a sense of elegance and brought back that elite atmosphere he always use to carry. Not to say it has declined, now it just seemed like he was a handsome man unattainable to almost anyone in every sense of the word. Grabbing his wallet, keys and phone he headed out the door but stopped abruptly as he hit someone with the edge of it.

The sound of the crying voice immediately made him realize who it was. "Deidara."

"What the fuck Itachi, what the hell was that about?" He bare spoke, one eye watery from the harsh impact.

Itachi just simply stood there un-amused at the other man's action of rubbing his sore and red forehead. "Don't stand silently in front of other people's door. Knock."

"Maybe you shouldn't be like speedy Gonzales and slammed the door open like that. Besides, I have been knocking for about five minutes now, un. I didn't know if you and your left hand were having some alone time, but from the looks of it, it seems like that left hand it going to be taking a nice break." He finally decided to stand up straight and take a long look at Itachi. It had been a while that he'd seen him dress up to such a degree, not saying he wasn't one of the fanciest people in the company as it was, but it was almost strange to to see him like that.

Itachi blinked realizing what had to be going on through Deidara's mind, "I'm meeting Madara." And proceeded to close the door behind him shut.

Deidara rolled his eyes. "What do the women see in you, honestly? See, this is why I'm the life of the party and not you." Itachi just kept walking, he knew the blond would follow sooner or later, which he did making it in the elevator the last possibly second. "I always forget how talkative you are, un. Sometimes you get so excited I can't keep up with your words."

Itachi gave him a mild shrug. "I'll be sure to slow down then. What exactly did you come to me specifically for."

"Give me a ride to this station, no questions asked. Besides, I need to speak with you about something important."

Without any more questions, Itachi just did as Deidara asked, but was more than curious as to why he wanted to be dropped off at that specific train station that only went to one location, which was an hour away. Meaning he would only be at that destination for two hours before he had to catch the last train back, unless of course he had someone who could give him a ride back.

"What happened to your car?"

Deidara turned slightly red as he looked out the window, keeping his eyes steady on one specific billboard that mirrored another one. The left one was of S&amp;U Fashion, Sasuke in the front fixing his tie and Sakura laying her head beside him with a beautiful profile to match: very classically elegant, and work appropriate feel. A black background made a sharp contrast with their silhouettes, making them stand out even more. They truly looked like a power couple: beauty and brains for both of them, Sasuke had an air of superiority about him, while Sakura looked like any woman's goal. The second one was their own company, but with a more sultry tone. Konan was sitting on Pein's lap with a strapless dark Prussian blue gown, and Pein was wearing one of their signature suits as the sun was rising in the background.

"I might have pissed some people off and I want no traces of myself. Besides, I have to do what Pein asked of me the other day. That's why I took a cab over to your place, and thankfully I made it in time, un. I would have asked Hidan or Sasori, but one was currently indisposed up, something about fucking bitches. The other went to see his little cousin, something about putting him over the edge. Hmm, I really don't like that runt."

Itachi listened carefully, his eyes traveling from the sky that was slowly changing colors to Deidara face that was changing from emotion to emotion. "I see. That boy will be a pain if we do not do something about my little brother's company." Silence filled them once more as they stopped at another like. "Are we still trying to figure out Neji Hyuga's whereabouts?"

Deidara nodded, feeling uncomfortable at how long the light was taking to change. "Rumor has it, he stole something of value from Danzo." Itachi's eye twitched.

"Hm."

"Pein asked me to check it out, so if anything happens to me, you know where I'm at. I don't think I need to tell you where I'll be, un." Arriving at their location, Deidara stepped out and hesitated for a moment before going. Seeing his train coming up, he quickly left the car and gave Itachi one last look, who was making sure he went inside the train in one piece.

"Neji Hyuga, do you really think you'll get away with that?" Itachi spoke out loud to himself in the now empty car, thumb drumming against the steering wheel.

_'I don't know what you're planning Hyuga, but watch your back. If we find you, we'll make sure everyone in this country knows where you're at and you will never have a hiding place again. If Danzo finds you, let's hope there will even be any piece of you left_.'

Making his way back to the opposite direction of where he came from, Itachi let his mind go on overdrive, thinking of more than numerous things his uncle could want to see him for.

It couldn't be for Sasuke, he was sure he must have had people in there looking after him. Besides his father was a good source of information as it was. It couldn't be about his company either, as simple or trivial manners like that didn't face him. His finger drummed on the steering wheel in a rhythmic manner, thinking what he could be getting himself into.

If one where to truly think about it, Madara was like Danzo in a way. The public never knew why or where he left to only until a few years ago where he made it public, then again the man didn't give a fuck about anything. But somehow, through it all, the public still liked him because of his low key charismatic charm and elitist persona. He personified Japan: calm, poised, intelligent, elite. Even if no one could really see him for what he truly was.

Turning a sharp corner he spotted the apartment complex and inwardly sighed. Leave it to him to find the most expensive one in all of Tokyo. Not even thinking about it, he walked passed the security guards and receptionist as he made his way up to highest floor, no one questioning him or asking why he was there.

He was Itachi Uchiha, if anything, people knew of him more than Sasuke himself. The girls and woman loved Sasuke, he was the man every straight female would have loved to have, or had been at least with once in their life. Although, Itachi was the man introduced to the family as the fiance. He quickly changed his train of thought, he couldn't change the past.

Knocking on the door, one of the maids quickly opened it and let him in with a bow. After the greetings and short formalities he made his way towards the unexpectedly modern sitting room, his eyes glancing over the Tokyo skyline and to his brother's company and the one he worked for. There was a silence. The evening darkened in the room. Noiselessly, and with silver feet, the shadows crept in from the window.

The colors faded wearily out of things. The room was vast, much larger than expected for such an apartment, even if it was the most expensive and vast one. It was, in its own way, a very charming room with its high paneled wainscoting of cherry oak, its wine-colored frieze and ceiling of raised plaster work, and short fringed Japanese rugs. On a rosewood table stood a large jaded Japanese Buddha and above it a life size replica painting of The Great Wave of Hokusai. Some large blue china jars and Higanbana were ranged on the mantelshelf, and if standing in the middle of the room, one would see a panoramic view of Tokyo.

"Itachi. Nice to see you're doing so well." Itachi would have been surprised, if it would have been anyone else. Turning around, he bowed and then took a seat on a comfy dark chair facing Madara, who too quickly joined him. Both their faces stoic, eyes a dark coal and skin a pale white. Madara was dressed in practically the same attire as him, probably just with a different brand and his usually unruly long hair was tied in a mid- pony tail.

"As well, uncle."

Itachi had to be more than careful at times like this. Human life-that appeared to Madara's one thing worth investigating. Compared to it there was nothing else of any value to him, which is why he loved to play mind games whenever he could. It was true that as one passed through life with its pain and pleasure, one could not wear over one's face a mask of glass, nor keep the brain from showing fantasies and dreams. Madara's goal was to observe where they (whoever it was he took an interest in) met, and where they separated, at what point they were in unison, and at what point they were at discord-there was a delight in that, that nothing else could give him. It didn't matter to him the cost because one could never pay too high of a price for any sensation.

"How's your brother doing? Rumors are he's worse at running the company than Tsunade is at placing bets."

He stayed calm, but knew if Sasuke had heard any of that he wouldn't have stayed quite about it to Madara. "What did you call me here for, Madara?"

The oldest Uchiha gave him a crocked smile, almost amused at his choice of words. Reaching over for the whiskey, he placed to glass cup with a rock of ice side by side and slowly started to open the bottle.

"I didn't per- say call you, Itachi, I requested your presence. In the end you chose to come." Itachi's eyes narrowed and stopped once he was handed the alcoholic drink. Examining it shortly, he came to the conclusion that drinking it in one gulp would be the best result.

"Itachi…"

"Hm..?"

"Why is your ex-girlfriend working as Sasuke's personal assistant?"

The glass never made it to Itachi's lips as it cracked harshly under his hands grip, spilling the contents partially over his pants, the floor, and chair.

Itachi's widened eyes flashed to a deep red, tomoes circled around in a dangerous manner. "If you do anything to hurt her-"

"I don't think it matters if I hurt her or not, Itachi. You've hurt her more than I possibly ever could in her life."

Itachi took another deep sigh and examined the small cuts at the edges and tips of his fingers, blood starting to form into tiny spheres. Madara was sitting there with a look of triumph on his face. His eyes were lit with an exquisite fire, there was even a radiance about him. His parted lips were smiling over some secret of their own and that's when Itachi had realized a little too late the games had begun.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

On the other side of town Deidara had seen something he shouldn't have. Biting his bottom lip, he did a sharp turn going into a narrow and dirty alley. Hiding behind a trashcan, one hand tumbled with his cellphone, shakily trying to answering a call, while the other was trying to place pressure on a stab wound in his left leg.

He took a deep breath and hissed back at the cat that was passing by, scaring it permanently off. Deidara wanted to be alone, the last thing he needed was a flee infested cat passing by him.

'_How could I have let my guard down like that! Damn it_!' He was sure that the man he had killed hadn't seen his face, but there was blood evidence all around that he had been there. He slammed his head to the side of a trashcan out of anger, a clinging sound resonated through the small space. If Danzo really would have wanted to, all those men could have been after him. His eye looked up at the now dark sky, ears carefully listening to his surroundings.

His phone buzzed once more before Hidan's name came up on the screen and then he received a call from him. It seemed Hidan had hung up the first time. "H-hurry up..."

"Shut up ya' fucking pansy. I'll be there in a fucking moment. The things I do for you and your hurt ass, Deidara. Don't worry, I see ya' already and fucking Jashin, you look like a mess."

True to his word, Hidan stepped out of the car shirtless and with a pair of loose jeans on that were partly falling down as well. Without another word he walked over to the blond and nudged him with the edge of his foot. "You alive?"

"K-kick... kick me on more time and you'll be seeing that sadistic God of yours soon Hidan." The older man smirked and ran his fingers through his silver locks, picking up the man with one arm and then shoving him into his luxurious car. Well technically Kakazu's, but as long as he had it cleaned it didn't matter.

"Hospital or no?"

"Itachi's house... I have some news for him."

Hidan typically wouldn't have cared, but having heard in the meeting exactly where Deidara was going to go, even he was slightly worried.

"You got slapped around like a bitch?"

He set the car on drive and gave quick glances every so often at Deidara who was in the back with a thin coat of sweat.

"Something like that... Danzo also has his people brain washed like crazy."

[Flashback]

Looking back at it now, Deidara should have found it almost suspicious how strange it was that no one was guarding one of Danzo's many home. From the report he had received in the meeting, Danzo should have left the place a few months back after Neji supposedly came back from hiding. Entering the large house through one of the windows he found it to be completely isolated, traces that someone some time ago had lived in there, but now was long gone. Looking out the kitchen window he saw the stars in the sky, making a decision to not push his luck and get it over with.

Through and through, he ended up empty handed, there was nothing and it seemed like Danzo's lackeys did more than a well enough job cleaning up the place before him.

"Well, this is the last room. Maybe if I finish early I can go home soon." Sighing he opened the door and stood straight in his tracks, not believing what he was seeing. Deidara glanced round him with a puzzled expression. The room looked as if it had not been lived in for years. A faded Japanese tapestry, a broken picture on the floor, an old stack of books, and an almost empty book-case-that was all that it seemed to contain, besides a chair and a table.

As Deidara took out a small pocket flash light, he saw that the whole place was covered with dust and that the carpet was in holes. A mouse ran scuffling behind the wainscoting making him almost gag in disgust. There was even a damp odor of mildew.

'T_his doesn't make sense. Why did Danzo chose to preserve this entire room like this? The rest of the house is modern and looks dated. What is that old piece of trash trying to pull now_?'

His mouth twitched, and his parched tongue seemed unable to articulate. He passed his hand across his forehead, as it was dank with clammy sweat.

Deciding that this couldn't be normal he started to look around and even as it felt like hours, he knew no more than a few moments had passed. There was a large amount of fear crawling in the back of his neck, digging to get to the core of him. Turning around swiftly he saw no one and sighed in relief. Whatever this feeling was, it never betrayed him so he decided to take it into consideration and hurry up.

His eyes traced over to a picture that was covered in dusty shards of glass. Removing some of them with the back of his fingers, he looked closely and realized it was two photos. One was of a man smiling down at a woman who seemed very familiar to Deidara, but he just couldn't quite place his finger on it. It looked like he had black hair and fair skin, but then again the picture looked old and outdated. Due to light and dust it probably started to fade. The woman's face could hardly be recognized but her long hair could be seen going past her shoulders, and it seemed like she had quite the pretty smile.

The other picture looked a little more recent. If he didn't know any better, it looked like it was Hiashi and Fugaku sitting down in a bar discussing something, unknown that a picture of them had been snapped together. Deidara would have bet his bottom dollar to Kakazu, but that was quite the statement he'd be making if it were otherwise.

Unknown to Deidara, the moment that he had picked up the photo to examine it, a young man was leaning against the mantelshelf, watching him with that strange expression one sees on the faces of those who are absorbed in a play when someone is too submerged in what they're doing. There was no real sorrow or joy, more a flicker of triumph in the enemy's eye. He took a knife out of his pocket and looked at it, or at least pretended to.

"So, you're back, Neji... we've seen you with a few different disguises, but this one is quite new." 

Deidara froze in his spot giving him his back, unsure as to how the man got inside the house without him noticing his presence. 

'_Shit... at least this means that some of our predictions are true. Neji did take something and it's not just some rumor. If the man is acting so damn cocky, he thinks he can take me out right now. _'

Without another warning the man launched himself at Deidara, knife aiming straight for the jugular. At the last possible moment he turned around and caught the knife between his two palms making sure that it wouldn't slide across. The man drew the knife back and only having the chance to dodge the next attack, Deidara's leg didn't fully move away quickly enough and was stabbed in the upper thigh. 

A sharp scream filled the air, Deidara's hand wrapped around the man's arms and head butted him causing him to loose his balance for a moment. Not having a chance to do much more, Deidara pulled the knife out letting it clang to the floor and placed a hand over the bleeding wound. Quickly both men started to throw heavy and rough punches, despite each of their dazed and tired expressions. Danzo's henchmen was much faster than Deidara, but his punches lacked strength and accuracy. As for Deidara, his punches were slower but caused massive damage, already leaving the man with a broken eyebrow and chin. 

Before they knew it, both men were on the floor wrestling for dear life. Having stepped on Deidara's hair and seeing him squirm, the man took the chance to straddle the blond and wrapped his finger's around his frail and slender neck effectively chocking him. The grin on his face stretching almost to his ear, Deidara could practically see the man salivating at what was going on under him.

Gasping for air again and again the man got close to Deidara's face analyzing it thoroughly and smirking. "Oh Neji Neji, how nice it is to see this disguise, it's so good, I could just kill you again and again- hahaha!"

Deidara kept squirming under him, punch after punch he was sure he had broken his forearm by now, but the man was probably too high on drugs to not even tell the difference between a disguise and the real thing. It just seemed to Deidara that he was in the mood to kill and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Running out of air, he made one last attempt and kneed him on his back, causing for him to loose balance for a split second. Taking the chance he breathed in deeply and cried out as he headbutted the man, effectively getting him off. 

'_Pein, if die here, I'll make sure you wish you were dead, un!'_

Seeing the glint of the knife he quickly crawled for it and stood up, seeing this could probably be his only moment to take the drug addict down.

Danzo's henchman swayed for a moment as he tried to find his leverage and stand up with the help of the near by chair and table. Deidara rushed at him as best as he could and dug the knife into one of the main veins that is behind the ear, crushing the man's head down on the table and stabbing him again and again. There was a stifled groan and the horrible sound of some one choking with blood filled the silent room. Three times the outstretched arms shot up convulsively, waving grotesquely, stiff-fingered hands in the air trying to hold onto something.

"Shit..."

Deidara stabbed him twice more just encase, and that is when the man truly stopped moving. Something began to trickle on the floor. He waited for a moment, still pressing the head down and glancing every now and then at the door that was still open. Then he threw the bloody knife on the table, and listened carefully. Hearing nothing but the drips of blood on the filthy carpet, Deidara opened the door and went out to the living room for a moment to look out the window. The house was absolutely quiet, so it meant that there was no one about.

Content and feeling safe, adrenaline still pumping through his system, he limped slowly back into the room. The man's body was was still seated in the chair, straining over the table with a bowed head, humped back, and long arms stretched outwards. Had it not been for the red tear in his neck and the clotted black pool that was slowly widening on the table, it would have seemed that the attacker was asleep.

Taking out his phone he speed dialed Hidan about five times before the man picked up his call. Explaining to him quickly where he'd be and what had happened. Also that they might need to come back to dispose of a body.

Feeling strangely calm, he realized that the adrenaline was slowly starting to go away and his breath started to become shorter and shorter as more and more blood spilled onto the floor from his leg. Knowing there was nothing else he could do in his current state and Hidan thankfully was only a few blocks away in the red light district, he decided to leave as quickly as possibly.

Finally making it to the living room, the sound of a gun clicking right behind his head stopped him in his tracks.

"Ho... it seems there has been a confusion." Danzo spoke in cold tone. The gun never wavered from Deidara's head as he took another puff of his opium stick. Deidara stayed silent, unknown how Danzo got inside the house without him noticing.

'_How the hell did he do it! Damn it! Damn it all! If I die here I'm going to hunt you Pein, to the end of his life!"_

"Danzo-sama, it is Neji Hyuga in disguise again, no?" Spoke one of his henchmen wearing a bear mask and getting ready to take out his gun as well.

"No no, it seems not at this time. Deidara..."

The blond could have sworn he saw his ancestors the moment Danzo spoke his name so calmly.

"Something of great value to me has been taken, by Neji. And it seems you're looking as to find where he is also." Danzo slowly pulled the gun down and took a step back, "if you find Neji, tell him I'm looking for him."

Deidara stayed silent yet again, he could feel his wounded leg starting to shake slightly from the amount of pressure he was placing against it.

"You can go. You have one minute. If my men find you or anyone of your coworkers around my property again, they will capture you, bring you to me alive, and I'll kill you myself."

Not having to be told twice, Deidara hopped or ran as fast as he could away from the house and around the corner not daring to look back.

"Danzo-sama, do you believe that was the right thing to do?" Another henchmen asked, looking around the house as if it were his first time in there.

"It matters not. The bigger the herd, the easier it is to track and kill." Letting out a large puff of smoke, he opened his eye fully and walked to the room that Deidara and another one of his men had been in. Raising a visible eyebrow up, he rummaged specifically for the pictures on the table that was now tainted red with blood, not even looking twice at the dead body next to it.

"Heh... I had quite forgotten about these. I wonder what the Hyuga and Itachi will think of this."

[End of Flashback]

"So pretty much we're fucked going over there, huh?"

Deidara nodded weakly, more than happy to see Itachi's apartment building coming up. "Yeah, so I suggest we lay low until everything gets better, unless Pein or Itachi can do something a-about this."

Hidan smirked and let the engine reeve on, how interesting things were becoming.

* * *

Sooo, what do you guys think? Half of the story was the usual thing that you've guys been reading, and the other half has solved some about, oh I don't know, maybe two answers? Haha.

I wonder how many more questions you guys have now?

Itachi as "blank-san"... quite interesting I think. Please don't forget to leave a review telling me how you feel about this chapter or your thoughts and ideas. I really appreciate it and thank you guys for always being so patient.

Stay tuned for more on the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13: Unlikely Alliances

Hello, everyone! How are you? I'm doing good, don't worry about me cause FINALS ARE OVER AND I'M A FREE WOMAN! WHOOOOT! For those that aren't finished with finals/midterms, good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.

This chapter is one of the... interesting ones. There's a large cast of minor characters I'm introducing and a couple of alliances are going to be made.

Also, I would like to thank everyone who has been constantly reviewing my fanfic, thank you all so much. It really means a lot to me. I read them all and try to get back to you guys as soon as I can. I even take some of your suggestions into consideration. Speaking of wish, I have three things to announce today.

1.) I have been thinking about it and I was wondering if you guys were okay with the time of my posts. Would you like this consistency of a monthly update or shorter number of words, but more frequent updates? Maybe something in between?

2.) Also, I put up a poll on my profile if you guys could check it out. It's about character interactions that the readers are looking most forward to seeing. You can vote up to four times.

3.) Last but not least, I was thinking of making Omakes for this fanfiction. For those that don't know, Omake's are side stories that happen in anime. Sometimes it can even be interpreted as those tropes of the classic beach day, hot spring day, and that random birthday episode. They wouldn't be long, from about 500 to 2k words and I'd post them at random times. I thought it would be nice to have something to read while waiting for the next update. They'd mostly be about the side characters and such.

I'd also like to thank: aisuruitachiwakoi for her amazing fanart of Hinata that she did for my fanfic. I am truly touched. ((I'm so sorry it's not up yet, I still don't know how to make the link work. I'll get it eventually, I promise you!))

The Count, Kennedy

* * *

**Chapter 13: Unlikely Alliances**

The man moved his long dark silky hair behind his shoulders, watching the people on the ground, analyzing them before his eyes quickly switched over to the beautiful handcrafted Koto his father had given him as a gift oh so long ago. At another time, he devoted himself entirely to music, and in a long latticed room, with a vermilion and gold ceiling and walls of olive-green lacquer, he stood still.

The harsh intervals and shrill discords of barbaric music stirred him at times when Schubert's grace, and Chopin's beautiful sorrows, and the mighty harmonies of Beethoven himself, fell unheeded on his keen ears. He collected together from all parts of the world the strangest instruments that could be found, either in the tombs of dead nations or among the few savage tribes that have survived contact with Western civilizations, and loved to touch and try them.

He had painted gourds filled with pebbles that rattled when they were shaken; the long clarin of the Mexicans, into which the performer does not blow, but through which he inhales the air. There was the harsh ture of the Amazon tribes, that is sounded by the sentinels who sit all day long in high trees, and can be heard at a distance of three leagues; the teponaztli, that has two vibrating tongues of wood and is beaten with sticks that are smeared with an elastic gum obtained from the milky juice of plants. He even had the yotl-bells of the Aztecs, that are hung in clusters like grapes; and a huge cylindrical drum, covered with the skins of great serpents, like the one that Bernal Diaz saw when he went with Cortes into the Mexican temple, and whose doleful sound he has left a so vivid a description.

Sighing he sat down and turned on the television on the opposite wall, as the one behind him gave a panoramic view of the Tokyo skyline. Flipping through the channels, he found what he was looking for and gave a dark and sinister smile.

"-ough no one has really confirmed on his appearance. Just many rumors and speculations. Now we'll take you back about last night's event where our Prime Minister, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finally decided to address the people of Japan concerning his new diplomatic-"

His phone rang and instantly muted the television. Placing subtitles to read along, the name Danzo popped up on the screen to which he gladly accepted.

"Well hello there, Danzo. Long time no talk, no?" He chuckled deeply and examined his perfectly long, and black manicured nails. "I see. So still no Neji, but curios Deidara was snooping around? No matter, I doubt they'll be getting around us anymore." Another deep chuckle flowed through his pasty white lips, his eyes scanning the screen as it zoomed in on Sarutobi's speaking face.

"I know and I agree. Soon that old man will fall and we'll take reign. It's time for Japan to change. For the world to know the true power of the Japanese people."

The maid excused herself, a look of apprehension on her features, and bowed, "pardon me Orochimaru-sama, but your guest is still waiting for you downstairs."

Orochimaru gave her a simple flick of the wrist and watched her leave, "send him up in a moment." A long paused filled the air.

"Yes, I know. It is hard, but nothing we can't finish, my little children are already taking care of most of that. I already have Jirōbō who is with Zaku in the slums, Kidōmaru is visiting lower middle-class homes explaining his reasoning's about what is going on, Kimimaro is doing the same but in hospitals, while Sakon and Ukon are making mass viral speeches on the internet."

After another long pause, he gave a dark laugh.

"Danzo please, the last time Kami took a break we had the Dark Ages, it would be quite the coincidence if it happens again... Do not remind me about him, it's a shame we never got Itachi on our side. Regardless that is something we must discuss somewhere else. I must let you go, there's someone I need to see."

As if on cue once he ended the call, Sarutobi walked in, hands clasped tightly behind his back as he took in Orochimaru's elegant apartment. "It's not polite to keep an old man like me waiting, Orochimaru." The man chuckled and just stared at the screen, the same man was still talking about how Hiruzen was completely wrong in what he was suggesting on doing.

"Someone doesn't like you, Sarutobi-_sensei_."

Hiruzen watched carefully the screen, the man speaking was completely against the whole thing from the beginning. "Yes, I've seen him on t.v. a few times already. But it is something that must be done."

"I agree, sensei. Which is why I voted for it."

During last month's meeting there had been a discussion about raising taxes to lower the debt of the country and have it gain some more footing. Even though it was a close call, Orochimaru pulled some string, without Hiruzen knowing of course, and got a margin of 2% in their favor winning them the decisions they wanted. Then came the second problem, where to raise those taxes, and through a board of discussion, import tariffs was the only true solution. At least for Orochimaru, and not that he cared too much either. He'd be willing to say that he'd sleep in a bed of snakes if it meant that he managed to obtain his goal.

The conclusion of the long meeting ended with an increase of Tariff Rates on Textiles Apparel, Footwear, and Travel good. Yarn that had: silk, wool, cotton, other vegetable fibers, and man-made fibers had an increase of 0.01% - 7.9% depending on the company of course. Woven fabrics that had: silk, wool, cotton, other vegetable fibers, and man-made fibers had an increase of 2.5% up to 12.5%. Apparel got an increase from its 4.0% to 4.4% up to 12.8% while carpet got a harsh increase of 7.4% compared to its original 0.1%.

But the one that truly caused a stir within the actual Japanese community was the increase in travel good from a simple 1.7% that skyrocketed straight to 16%.

The companies themselves were going haywire with all of this. The only decent or positive thought about all of this for the companies and people of Japan was that it would take a few more long months up to a year and a half for everything to is completely settled, and if it goes smoothly then there won't even need to wait more than a year.

Everything was just going as planned.

Orochimaru's phone rang and Danzo's name popped up again, this time, he declined the call and placed his phone face down. Hiruzen rose an eyebrow.

"Secret lover?"

Orochimaru smirked, "you know I've always found Danzo so alluring."

Hiruzen just grimaced at the thought, shaking the image away from his head. "Orochimaru, please. You also know jokes like that give me anxiety."

He replied back with a simple laugh, working as Hiruzen's Deputy Prime Minister gave him almost a little too much leeway. The old man didn't even suspect he was trying to kill him. Waiting for a moment where Hiruzen was too engulfed in the show, he took a peak at his phone and it took every fiber of his being to control his facial features.

'_**We have found Neji Hyuga's location**._'

* * *

Shino, for a lack of a better word, was tired.

He had promised to meet with Hinata and Lee later tonight to help them out with some work they needed. It was strange considering Hinata worked for Sasuke's company, but he would help out his childhood friend, it's not like they were competing against each other. Sighing he took off his dark glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in tender and slow circles. His eyes traveled to his white watch that had a black mother of pearl finish on the inside.

"Sir, your last appointment has arrived." Shino put his glasses back on and took note he was about 15 minutes early, but not that he cared. If anything, that meant that he would be out of here sooner.

"Alright, thank you, send them up in a moment. Who is it?"

The woman looked down at her clipboard, raising a few papers and scrunched up her nose, unsure if she was reading the name properly.

"Akihiko Izanagi..." Her eyes traveled over to Shino's form who only tapped his finger once against the wooden desk. Both of the people knew that name was fake, considering that the Izanagi clan stopped existing a long, long time ago. "Still, bring him in." The woman nodded and went to fetch the man who was making Shino's stomach do flips. Did he really have that name or was it just another man trying to make false business with them? In a way, he was expecting for things like this to happen, especially with what the Prime Minister had suggested only hours ago on live television.

Not a moment later the man came in.

He was certainly wonderfully handsome, looking like Adonis and made out of ivory and rose leafs, crisp coal black hair as well. There was something in his face that made one trust him at once. His blue eyes traveled across the large room. Behind the sitting head of the Aburame clan was a large panoramic view of the city that was turning dark and the shadows were starting to crawl closer and closer to him. To the left was a wall filled with dirt and inside, one could see through the transparent glass, that the insects were constantly moving, thriving on their in. With further inspection, the tunnels created by the insects traveled throughout the company all the way to the first floor. To the right was large wooden bookcase that reached from floor to ceiling, and ranging from opposing walls filled to the brim with books of all types.

If someone was scared of insects, having a meeting with this man would have been a tedious experience.

"Please, take a seat Izanagi-san."

Without hesitation, he quickly made his way and sat down, taking one long look at Shino. He looked tired, tired and troubled. For a clan of people who barely carried a wrinkle or line on their face, Shino's face had signs of thin, barely noticeable wrinkles between his eyebrows.

"Before I begin, Aburame-san, can I have your full honesty and sincerity that I am not being recorded and we will not be interrupted?"

That just made everything ten times more suspicious, but Shino instantly figured out where this was going. He took out his phone and spoke some orders as people were heard shifting in their seats in the background. "I can give you that pleasure, now." Still a little weary, he slightly parted a drawer open where a sharp knife recently laid, and his finger hovered over a small button under his chair.

The other man sighed and flashed him a soft smile. "Thank you." His voice changing to an all familiar one. Shino's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the young man remove the blue contacts and reveal his white trademark Hyuga eyes.

"Neji..."

Neji continued on, taking out some cleaning wipes and taking the makeup off to reveal his true skin tone and not that perfection he had created.

"... Hyuga."

A million thoughts rushed through his mind, almost thinking this was all a lie and a publicity stunt with a hidden news crew.

Finally, the wig went straight towards the floor and his long strands of dark hair flowed down past his shoulder and onto his mid back. Shino was inwardly in shock, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing him like that. His face was familiar, but because of the getup and the change of tone, it really threw him off. Relaxing, Shino stood up and made his way around the table to meet Neji's alarmed gaze, who stood up as well.

What happened next surprised him as the Aburame head wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug, the last thing Neji was expecting. He didn't question the out of character action from Shino but knew where he was coming from. Neji had left him in a horrible situation and disappeared into nowhere without a trace, leaving one of his childhood friends alone. Hugging him back, they stayed in that position before Shino decided it was enough and broke it off. Strangely, Neji would have continued it for a moment longer if he hadn't been so rash about it.

The other action that Shino did after he pulled a step back didn't surprise Neji too much. Shino landed a square punch to Neji's face, causing him to stumble back a few feet then land on the floor. Blood rolled down his nose, still dripping onto the wooden floor, seeping into the crack. While Shino seeing another moment attack, quickly closed in the space between them and landed another strong punch to his face, inspecting what he had just done.

"Are you d-done?" Seeing as Shino didn't budge, and Neji took the beating, feeling he deserved it and had it coming, Shino nodded his head. The two shared a knowing look and calmed themselves down.

"I am now."

Finding his way back to his chair, Neji made a mental note to get ready when he apologized to Naruto. He was sure the blond wasn't going to stop punching after hitting him twice, and he wasn't that masochistic to let it happen. Reaching over, he accepted the tissues and made an attempt to tame his bleeding nose.

Another long pause filled the air as Shino could only go back to the first meeting he had with the Hyuga family, most precisely Hinata and Neji.

[Flashback]

"Shino, we don't think we have to tell you, but behave. Today you will be meeting the heir to the Hyuga name. Neji Hyuga and the current heads, Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga. They're also twins so don't be too surprised by that." Shino just nodded silently at his mother's words.

"Current... who knows what's going on through that clan's mind." Spoke Shino's father under his breath, thinking it would have missed his young son's ears.

As they arrived into the Hyuga territory he was more than surprised at the cleanliness and stark whiteness that surrounded the place. It almost seemed too sterile for his little boyish tastes that were used to rugged and dark contrasts with browns and greens. More than enough earthy tones ran through his mind as for the first time in his childhood days, not that he had lived that long, he felt like actually getting Crayola and drawing on the walls.

The architecture was old traditional Japanese style, the grass mowed to an evenness that irked him, but the gardens were luscious. The small amount of wildlife and insect around there flourished and he could tell they took care of their environment.

His parents, on the other hand, could tell Hiashi was just anal about everything.

Before dinner he was introduced to Neji, a young boy maybe a year older than he was with a soft smile on his face and white pearlescent eyes, ones that he could see his own reflection in. The introduction was sweet and short lived as neither of the two boys were not much for words. Soon after he was introduced to the rest of the clan and came upon a pretty woman with indigo hair and lavender eyes. She was really pretty in his eyes, he even blushed when she complimented his unruly spiky hair. As the dinner progressed, for some reason he had felt his father's anger throughout the dinner spike and lower itself, it was too much for him to properly comprehend.

'_Dad... if you don't like this, can't we leave_?'

"Shino, why don't you go outside and play with Neji for a little while? I have some things to discuss with the other parents..." Shino just stood up, thankfully holding his balance and tried not to waddle outside as he wasn't used to the flat shoes. Neji grabbed his hands and sped the process.

"You want to play?"

Shino looked up at the sky then back at him, nodding shyly as he shrugged, hiding effectively under the high collar of his little, dark brown costume kimono. Neji in comparison wore a striking white one that matched the color of his eyes and teeth.

"Yay, hide and seek?"

Shino thought about it for a moment and nodded hesitantly, "will my clothes get dirty?"

Neji pondered about it and shrugged, thinking that his new friend was probably right. "Maybe. My mom would get mad at me."

Shino nodded his head in agreement. "What do we do, Nejwi?"

Neji smiled and shook his head, "Its pronouwnced Neji. Neji." After a few more trails and errors Shino finally corrected himself with some trouble.

"Well, we can play with Hinata-sama." Shino tilted his head in curiosity as he watched the barely older boy cover his mouth after his small blunder.

"Who's Hinata-sa-sdmmm I can't breathe." Neji quickly removed his hands over the other boy's mouth, "she's my little cousin. She's really pretty too. She's just not allowed to go out cause she's really frail. Mama and Papa are scared someone might take her far away, so I have to protect her which is why we can't say her name out loud. But you don't seem like a bad guy. So you can meet her!"

Shino listened intently and soon followed around the corner of the compound to a room, and then into another room. "Hinata-sama, are you here?"

Shino wasn't, per say scared of the dark room, but it did irk him a little to be running around a house he had no recollection of ever being in. Especially when his parents had told him to behave well.

The lights flickered on and Shino stood absolutely still, looking up at a maid who had a little girl hiding behind her. Peeking through Neji ran over towards her and hugged her gently while at the same time dismissing the maid. "Thank you, Koko-san, we'll be here playing." The maid looked at the three children with an odd expression and smiled faintly.

"Behave and play well children..." Hinata, finally noticing Shino after Koko had closed the door, stood silently with a large blush on her cheeks, eyes cast down.

Through Shino's eyes, she was beautiful. She was thin with a very fair complexion, her hair the brightest and darkest living indigo with a crown of distinction on her head. Her brow was clear and ample, lavender eyes cloudless. Her lips and the molding of her face was so expressive of sensibility and sweetness that he could only compare her to a garden rose.

Shino snapped out of it, pushing his dark glasses up. "I'm Shino, nice to meet you," and finished with a bow. The girl surprised, bowed as well, "I'm H-Hinata Hyuga. N-Nice to m-meet you too."

Neji looked at the exchange and mentally pouted, feeling possessiveness over his younger cousin. "What would you like to play, Hinata-sama?"

The little girl shrugged and glanced between the two boys, "anything is f-fine. Really, Neji-kun." Shino had to practically strain himself to hear her, although it was nice to see she didn't look at him weird or anything.

"How about pretend. We can pretend to save Hinata-sama. Do you like the idea, Shino-kun?"

Shino tore his eyes away from Hinata and back towards Neji to only nod.

"Alright, since it's been a long time. I can be the knight." He pointed at himself with a wide smile, chest puffed forward.

Hinata giggled and Shino assumed that would lead him with the role of being the dragon.

Seeing where he was going, Shino somehow felt a competitive strive spark ignite inside of him. "Okay, only if you promise to protect her. Always." Neji's eyes widened and nodded his head, being thankful that his new playmate was kind enough to play the villainous role, but knew that wouldn't be an everyday occurrence.

With childish seriousness, Neji interpreted his words literally and looked upon Hinata as his—his to protect, love, and cherish. Not even in a romantic feeling as the years passed on, but as someone, he deeply and truly cherished, irreplaceable and like the sister he never had.

So much so that even as they grew older, Shino kept reminding him to keep that promise, until that day happened and Neji left.

[End of Flashback]

Shino sighed for what seemed like the 20th time that day and ran tired fingers down his face, Neji just stayed still before licking his dry lips.

"I'm sorry. I know you have no reason to accept it, never the less to have any reason to continue this conversation, but I am truly sorry for the circumstances I had left you and your family in."

The Aburame heir remembered the long nights his father spend slaving away that year so they could get everything fixed and ready before the new board meeting. The Hyugas had promised so much and had continued it until Neji came along. Shino took off his dark sunglasses, staring straight into pale tired eyes.

"What else did you come here for?" His tone was even, maybe even cold.

Neji twisted slightly in the chair, his eyes traveling to the left wall where the insects were moving about freely.

"I need your help... with this." He took out a stack of papers, some wrinkled on the edges, the rest in pristine condition. Shino eyed Neji, then the papers carefully before taking them and studying them thoroughly. His eyes widened in surprise, where could have Neji received such documents?!"

"Neji... where did you- !" Shino read the names again and again. It came to a moment where Shino didn't even care where he got it, but why all these people's names were in these specific documents. He scanned the names again, a few names popping out against the rest: Orochimaru and Danzo. Then everything, like a simple puzzle clicked inside his head.

'_This isn't good. Neji... what have you done_?' His eyes re-read the papers again and again.

"Keep reading until you find it. Look at the back of the last page carefully."

Shino did as he was instructed, unsure of what to look for, but when he found it he immediately stood up from his chair. "Neji, do you know what you have in your hands?" Shino's voice was below a whisper, his eyes darting around the room cautiously.

"Yes, which is why we need to stop them."

Shino shook his head, regaining his composure and sitting down. "I'm no detective, and they're not above the law. Give this to the authorities."

Neji frowned, "do you think they would believe this! Do you think those people, who have half of their names written in that paper take my side?! I didn't disappear just because of Hinata-sama, Shino. I disappeared because of what Danzo did to my father and the fact that our company's name was on the line. If I didn't stop, Danzo would have made sure to have caused a larger amount of chaos than I ever could have after abandoning my post."

Seeing the anger slip through Neji's body, Shino took a more simple direction. Taking out two glass shots from a lower drawer, he also took out a bottle of Ao Vodka.

"Drink." He motioned after pouring out the drink for him as Neji stared at it in slight confusion.

"I have to meet up with Hinata-chan in an hour and a half, so you have an hour. Convince me Hyuga."

Neji's eyebrow twisted, unsure of how things were going to go.

"Are those documents not enough, Shino?"

Shino narrowed his eyes, he was more than convinced. "I need to know I can trust you, Neji. Prove it, or explain to me you are sincere. Explain yourself."

Neji looked down at his watch and glanced back at Shino. "I only need 45 minutes."

Both men quickly went on about a heated debate about Neji's past, and current situation, maybe even further plans.

There was just something that really kept bothering Shino, lurking in the back of his mind. Why was Fugaku and Mikoto's name on that paper? Why was their seal there? And why would they be sponsoring this? Would it even be considered a sponsoring or more of a donation?

* * *

Madara watched the younger Uchiha get in his car and let a small smile grace his features. '_Suppose someone said "humans are foolish"... Obviously, that person would be talking about themselves as well. If you want to understand humans more you need to do more than just watch them. You need to pay attention to what they themselves are watching. What are you watching... Itachi?'_

His eyes narrowed dangerously, '_you are the ones I'm watching. It may be hard to believe, but I like you and your pathetic excuse of a brother. You know what they say, the opposite of love in not hatred, but indifference. An indifferent person would lack the drive to kill or hurt. Is that what happened to you, Itachi? Are you just indifferent?'_

He turned around and scanned the now empty room, waiting for his new guest to arrive any moment now. '_My mind keeps jumping around... Am I nervous? Did I underestimate my enemy so much that I stepped in too deep?'_

A ruffle of spiky silver hair appeared first and then the body followed.

"Hah... what a silly thought, they're not Hashirama. Hatake, hello. What brings you here so early this week?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and waited to be seated, quickly Madara complied and both men started to discuss some unsolved issues.

Now on the other side of town, Itachi sighed and stared at the door of his apartment. The evenings events going through his mind again and again in what seemed like an endless cycle, he couldn't even control the amount of anger he was letting out. Even if his facial muscles didn't betray him, his eyes did, going in and out between a crimson red and obsidian black. Hearing another annoyed scream come from inside his apartment, he decided now was a good time to enter than never.

"-up! I'm a good doctor Deidara! If Jashin would hire me, anyone would love to have me as their doctor so stay god damn fucking still and let me heal you up!"

Deidara was trying to crawl away on the floor, with a towel under him soaking up the blood, from Hidan who could only laugh. Ignoring that abomination that was taking place in front of him, he looked over and saw Kakuzu sitting down on the table smoking a Cuban cigar and punching some numbers in his phone.

"Itachi, mmm, let me go you piece of shit!- Help a man out- Ow! God damn it!"

"You mean Jashin?"

"Enough." The room grew quiet once they stared at Itachi, who's eyes were still glowing an eerily red. As quickly as he appeared, the Uchiha disappeared into another room and came back with a larger than necessary first aid kit.

"Explain." His eyes were now black, but his eyebrows were scrunched together as he looked at Deidara's wounded leg.

"Deidara was fucking around in one of Danzo's old crack houses- don't look at me like that Deidara. It might as well have been one. Anyways, then one drugged up mo'fo was there and he got stabbed, then Deidara killed him back. Danzo showed up a few moments later and spared our little blond's life."

Deidara winced as the disinfectant touched his skin, "clean cut, but deep. It seems it missed the femoral artery by a centimeter or two." Kakuzu whistled in surprise, then glanced up from his phone to stare at them.

"Looks like luck is on your side, Deidara," to which the blond only scoffed in annoyance. "I can't wait to tell Pein about this one. Fucking asshole, I can't wait to get him back for being a pompous prick. By the way, does anyone know of Neji's location?"

Kakuzu shrugged, and Hidan ignored the question, but Itachi's stomach did a small flip. "Why?"

Deidara's eye widened then narrowed in suspicion, "apparently Neji took something very important to him. I don't know what it could have been, but it must have been important if Danzo was putting all his efforts into finding him."

"Wouldn't doubt it if he fucking brainwashed all of his subordinates. Seems like he would." Itachi took in the information and just let it sink in his head for a moment. Whatever was happening it wasn't good, for his family and the Hyuga family. That is if Danzo wasn't planning on attacking just Neji, and taking care of Hiashi for any backup reason.

"Why my apartment? Did you make sure you weren't being followed?"

"I brought Kakuzu along just for that. He's making sure that he has the ability to view every camera in the building, and made sure we weren't being followed. I picked up Deidara, then called Kakuzu, and we came here. It was the safest and fastest place we could go into."

"Hm... I see. Deidara you will need about three to four stitches. I think you'll be fine, but go see a doct-?"

"Tch, as if. I don't need to see anyone." Deidara was now shivering, probably to dip in his body temperature because of the shock slipping into his system, adrenaline also going away. "Once I get home, I'll stitch it myself."

Itachi only just nodded and finished dressing the wound, seeing as it had stopped bleeding and he could finally bandage it. "Kakuzu, Hidan take him to the hospital and don't let him leave. I'll speak to Pein about this tomorrow morning. If needed, you can use the spare guest room.

* * *

"Gaara?" Kankuro blinked in confusion, glancing at his brother come into his office unnoticed and uncalled for. "Uh, well, would you like some tea, water, or soda?"

Sitting down, he glanced around the room, "I need to speak to you." His tone even.

"So no drinks, alright then... What have you come to visit me for little brother, because you sure don't pass by for just hellos."

"I have just finished speaking with the Uchiha and he has told me that he will be presenting very favorable numbers to the council, despite that the sales numbers have gone done. Explain..."

Kankuro shifted uneasily in his seat for a moment. "As you know, I don't really know what's going on there, but it seems very strange to me that they're saying they'll show very favorable results."

"I know, which is why I came ahead of time so they could give me the form. So I could review it, but they don't have it ready." Gaara closed his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. "I wanted to make sure there weren't any numbers being manipulated..."

"Hate to put it like this, Lil' brother, but if they do a good job at manipulating those numbers, it'll be hard for us to detect it. To know if it's real or not, we would have to check each department's number and compare them. I don't even have autonomy to ask for such forms, besides Sasuke would be asking me questions."

The room grew silent.

"I mean if you want me to-"

"No, Kankuro. That would only alert Sasuke. Not to mention it would cause a boring problem between both of our families. Not only that but comparing those numbers would take time."

Kankuro's eyes widened in realization, and a smirk appeared on his face, "but I know of someone who has that information, processed and centralized. His new little secretary. Order her to give you everything."

"Kankuro don't be an idiot."

The older brother leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes, "you're right. Might as well be asking Sasuke himself."

"Any other ideas that could help us gain those forms before the meeting?" Kankuro had another idea but kept that one shut. "I'll see what I can do."

Nodding, Gaara stood up and made his way out. "Don't fail me brother..." Without a second notice, he made his way down the corridor and rose an eyebrow, if he had any, at who he saw.

'Well, if it isn't the blonde leech.'

"-yes it's dinner for 15 people. No no, you guys have to order it from the restaurant. At noon on the dot, I'll see you. That's Ino Yamanaka, I'm the one who's in charge. Yes yes, thank you very much."

Ino turned around and practically jumped 10 feet in the air once she saw the charming redhead. Hanging up she flung her hair behind her shoulder and tilted her head up, "what can I help you with Sabaku-san?"

Gaara could now understand all of Naruto's messages and annoyance he had with her, so why should he help his good, but lying, friend out? "You could help me with a lot of things..."

Ino paused in her tracks, neck creaking to look back at him, "Uh, excuse me, but that's not what you said to me last time. That is if I remember correctly."

Gaara pretended to think on it and gave her a lopsided smirk, "I never said you were useless. If _I remember correctly _at the end of the conversation, I said you could be useful in many ways."

Her mouth hung open and stared at him in shock, "e-excuse me? Are you telling _me again _that the only thing I'm good for is for you to sleep with me?"

Emerald hues engulfed her blue ones, "yes." Not a hint of remorse, hesitation, or doubt in his voice.

An audible gasp escaped her, "So tell me here Gaara, what the hell is it that you want me to tell you? Do you think that if you keep insulting me I'm going to go and sleep with you?"

"I wouldn't think it's an insult for a woman like you. It should be a ratification that you can acquire what you want."

Ino was formally lost at that one moment. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Figure it out..." He gave her a sloppy smirk and proceeded to walk away, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto seeing him as well.

Naruto wanting to wave held it back and scratched the back of his head as he looked between Ino and Gaara who was now in the elevator. "Huh, was Gaara around here? What was he doing here?"

Shikamaru and Sasuke shared a look and slowly started to give them space.

Not beating around the bush, she came up with a few white lies. "Oh you know, he was asking me out to dinner, and you know how busy I am with tomorrow's meeting, I had to obviously say no. You know, I had to give him the usual, oh I don't know, I might not be able to trick. In the end, we decided to speak later. And by the way, Sasuke, Sakura wanted me to tell you that she's at the airport picking up your parents and that well, she'll be spending tonight with them."

Sasuke gave a short nod, "I don't think they're out of immigration yet, so we can see how Sai is doing."

"And don't forget those lovely models!" Added Naruto at the last moment, leaving Ino hanging with her mouth open yet again. "Bye Ino-chaan!~"

In the elevator Shikamaru let out a small laugh, "Naruto watch you're back. She was giving you that look. The look of a man who wasn't going to wake up from his sleep."

Meanwhile, downstairs Sai huffed and glanced at the models. "Haku! This isn't sewn properly!" Haku turned around slightly and analyzed the top the model was wearing.

"Yet it is, Sai-san. Let me see." Walking over briskly, he analyzed her and shifted the top a little, to the right. "See, it's fine, Sai-san."

The short haired black head scoffed, "and who approved of this design?!"

"You sir," he replied in a flat tone. Sai gave him a fake short laugh and smile, "well when you put it that way then it's magnificent. Thank you, Haku."

The three man trio appeared and instantly the group of girls flocked over to them, to which Shikamaru and Naruto awkwardly took care of as Sasuke scooted away. He had enough with Karin and Sakura, he didn't need anymore, at least at the moment.

"Girls, please. Don't you know all men are pigs?" The girls whined and slowly gave the boys their space. "What do you boys want."

"Oh come on Sai, where just here to see how things are coming along for tomorrow's show." Sai cranked his neck and looked at Naruto with a dead look in his eyes, "great. Just peachy. If it weren't for these wonderful materials I'd be working over time. I just wish I could blame the Aburame's but I know I can't even do that."

Sasuke tried his hardest to not roll his eyes, "Sai. 30% Polyester, 70% cotton, you know very well that at this exact moment we can't afford 100% cotton."

Sai was now downright annoyed and mad, "it's not about the 70/30 Sasuke, it's about the quality of these fabrics, it's like the production has gone down. Then people have the gall to ask me questions about why the sales are going down."

Shikamaru stepped in this time. "Sai, stop or get over your menopause because the change hasn't been that vast for you to complain so much. Statistically speaking, people looking at the design before they look at the fabric. You know what's something that we should be worried about? That little plan of increasing taxes that Sarutobi somehow magically was able to pass and will go through next year..."

Silence indulged all of the men as it had skipped Sasuke that morning, knowing for sure that it was going to be a discussion in the meeting tomorrow and tonight with his parents.

"Shikamaru, the point is that isn't what the costumers are saying. Why don't you speak to Sakura about this? She maybe a little clueless to fashion sometimes with that tomboyish appearance she gives off some days, but at least she get's her job done. And I'd appreciate it if the next time that you negotiate textiles and fabrics with someone, you ask for my opinion. Because if you keep up with this bullshit idea of economizing in the textiles and fabric department, transparency and lace are going to be back in style and that's way too 2012 for my taste."

The trio acknowledged and took some of Sai's comments into consideration, he was partially right, but they needed to get through this leg of the race before they do anything else.

"Now part like the red sea and leave, I have things I need to finish. Haku! How are those folds coming along?!" He screamed over to the man who was too into his work to notice. Noticing their cue, they left without another word, although a small and bad idea started to form in Shikamaru's head.

Back upstairs Ino is by her desk, fixing her hair when Kankuro shows up. "Well good evening." Ino gave him a quick glance and nodded, "yes good evening."

Kankuro leaned over and asked, "do you know if the double ugly has left yet." Ino tells him, "no I haven't seen her leave. She's probably still in her office, what... do you need her or something?" Kankuro shook his head slightly, "no not exactly. Do you know, if she finished that form for tomorrow? For the council meeting, it's being held tomorrow. Do you know?"

Ino could smell something was up, "I don't know, you do know I'm not allowed in her territory. You know she might have it finished since she's so super efficient." He pondered something else for a moment, "do you think it would be possible to get a copy of that said form. You see I want to be able to revise it. So I can be prepared for that council meeting tomorrow."

The blonde secretary wasn't buying it, "apparently it's her day. She is to be officially promoted to assistant tomorrow. Then the next, probably vice-president of the finance department."

"You know that wouldn't that strange. You know with one little mistake, on any occasion or doing that form wrong. Or if something disastrous occurs. Maybe that little promotion is in danger. Don't you think so?" Ino stopped playing with the tips of her hair and stared at him dead in the eyes, "I guess she has to finish all that work before tomorrow, right? So she can show off before everyone, so there will be no doubt that she is great at her job."

Kankuro finished off, "if tomorrow does go well for her. She gets promoted, my dear Ino we both would lose that war. We would both be out in the street. That is what we can't let happen. Or am I mistaken?"

Hinata was at her desk when she received a call from Hanabi. "No, Hanabi, I am going to go late tonight. Look I just need to finish some things here, and then I'll head home to finish it off. Please, Hanabi, tell Lee that I need him, and if Shino arrives before I do, let him in and make his favorite. I also have great news, I'll tell you all about it tonight. Alright Hanabi, see you soon."

Ino slowly walked in and smiled. "Is that form for the council meeting ready?" Hinata could only eye her warily, "no why?"

Ino tells her, "I need to make some copies so I can put it in folders. That way, everything will be ready for tomorrow." Hinata simply frowned, "well the thing is... That form won't be finished until tomorrow."

"Okay well, then when you have it ready give it to me." Hinata cast her eyes down, not only ignoring her but giving her the cold shoulder as well. "Don't you worry about, I won't tell anyone that I did that. I just need to make copies and put them in folders."

"When it's ready I will do it myself."

Ino tapped the floor in a short rapid motion, "look the organization of that council meeting is my job. I must have it ready, beforehand, that means the folders have to be on that table before the meeting starts."

"The thing is that form won't be ready till noon." Ino stopped, curious as to why she would say that "oh why so late?" Hinata gave her a quick smile, "well if you have any doubts or any questions ask Sasuke Uchiha-san, your friend." Her mouth a thin line, Ino walked away and into Kankuro's office fuming.

"Apparently the form isn't ready yet. She won't let me see it or touch it. She wants to be responsible for everything, she told me. That it won't be ready till the council meeting starts." Kankuro took a deep breath and tilted his head, "ok that's fine, I suppose. Now I need to know if she is doing all that work on that computer?"

Ino gave an uncharacteristically shrug, "I would suppose. All the departments came by and gave her information. They should be on her computer, why?"

"I need to revise those disks by order. In fact, I need to get into that computer. Do you think, she is going to be working late tonight?" Ino shook her head and examined her manicured nails, "no, I overheard she's about to go home-! The trio is back, I'll see you later." Hastily, she managed to get back to her seat on time before they passed by once more.

Shikamaru kept talking while ignoring the looks the blonde was giving the, "we have to wait until Sai calms down with his little hysteria. We have to inform him that he can't start fighting about that topic in front of the council." Sasuke nodded, "not only with Sai, but I have to talk to Sakura. She's upset with the sales figures, and with every right."

Naruto smirked, "well Sakura will be easy to control. You two can discuss this in the bathtub tonight in a relaxed setting. Sai, on the other hand, is quite dangerous." Sasuke scoffed and massaged his temple. "Sai seems like the easier one to control."

Naruto perked up and wiggled his eyebrows, "Oh really- ow! Teme why do you have to punch me so hard?" Shikamaru only shook his head at their antics. "Naruto, Sakura's still pissed off at Sasuke because Ino went over and told her everything that happened with Hinata. She's being named assistant to the president tomorrow at the council meeting. Sasuke had to defend Hinata, which meant going against Sakura, which that in on itself sounds troublesome enough."

He nodded his head and sighed softly, patting his back, "so this mean tonight you must sacrifice yourself, Sasuke. Make her happy for tomorrow she must be on your side. Oh, and are you going to tell her you're going to make the fake form?"

Sasuke rose an eyebrow and scoffed, "what makes you say that? Look Naruto, this is between you, Shikamaru and I. Nobody else."

"And Hinata," Naruto added at the end with a dorky smile. Shikamaru nodded, "Hinata as well. What, you don't trust her or something?" Sasuke took in a deep breath, "I do trust her, but she's in this very deep. Sakura can't even stand looking at her, can you imagine if she was pretty?"

For a second Sasuke reconsidered his words as an image of the woman appeared in his head, which he swatted away quickly. Groaning in displeasure they part ways, but not before Sasuke gives Naruto one last 'good luck with that' look. Naruto nodded and glanced over at Ino. who had been eyeing them since they turned the corner and had been trying to listen in on their conversation to no avail.

* * *

Fugaku, Mikoto, and Sakura arrive home, all tired in their own ways. Fugaku annoyed at listening Sakura speak for hours on end decided to intervene, "there must be a reason for him doing so. Has Sasuke passed by?" One of the maids that crossed his path shook her head, "no, we haven't seen him, sir." Fugaku gave a curt nod, "thank you."

Sakura, seeing his frown deepen, only took out her phone and speed-dialed Sasuke's number. "Oh, don't worry about it, Sasuke's probably getting everything ready for tomorrow's council meeting, is all." Fugaku nodded, "now, how is the company doing."

Green hues diverted from obsidian ones, "I'd prefer that he be the one to tell you. I just don't want to meddle in that. Look I'll be right with you." Mikoto watched the strained exchange and spoke for her husband, "that seems good. Thank you, Sakura." They go onto the living room as Sasuke's phone only ends up in a dead tone.

Meanwhile, Hinata arrived home and took in a deep breath. Hiashi was drinking some sake while watching the news on the television, Lee was on the coach waving frantically at her with excitement, Hanabi was trying to stay awake. "Good evening everyone."

Perking up at the sound of her sister's voice, Hanabi sat up and made her way towards her with Lee not too far behind, "hey sis, how did things go? What is the news that you have for us ?" Hinata tried to shush them lightly, "shhh, dad can't hear this."

The dynamic duo looked behind them and noticed Hiashi was too into whatever he was watching to care about them. "Oh forget him, he's pretty drunk, but the youth of a man with a burning and strong flame is still strong inside of him! Yosh! So what is up, Hinata-hime?" Hinata grinned, "well tomorrow I get promoted to be assistant to the president!" The duo exchanged a knowing look and smiled from ear to ear, hugging her at the same time.

"Oh congratulations, Hinata-hime." Hanabi continues, "congratulations sis, you deserve it."

"Don't worry about it Lee, once there's an opening, you're the first one I'll hire. The only other problem is that you don't have any experience." Lee only huffed, and pushed his chest outwards a little, "I have been helping you do your job every night. I know that company backward and forwards."

Glancing at the two talk, Hanabi scrolled through he text messages and grinned. "Shino will be here soon, so I'll go his stuff ready. He said he had a meeting with an old friend or something like that." Everyone nodded in agreement and headed towards Hinata's room where they got comfy and laid all the paperwork out.

"Soo, who promoted you, sis?"

A small blush appeared on Hinata's face, "Sasuke-san, w-who else c-could it be?"

Hanabi smirked, but quickly replaced it with a frown, "wait, did his fiance and the blonde secretary also accept it so easily?"

A grim look fell over Hinata, "no... they put up quite the big fuzz and tries to stop it, but it didn't work in their favor." Lee nodded in agreement, "that is something that you should have received from the first meeting that you did. It was quite unyouthful of her. Hopefully, you'll make more money."

Hinata gave a small shrug. "It all depends on how good the council meeting is tomorrow. We have to start working this very moment, though. Tomorrow is an important day, the most important day I've had in that company. In fact, one of the most important days of my life. Everything has to go perfectly, plus I know a lot of people are after my head. Especially his fiance."

Everyone stayed silent when Hinata's words quieted down towards the end of her sentence. Hanabi shook her head and smiled, "yeah, we were expecting that, Hinata. We knew all about that, that pair of women have been after you for some time now. Don't look at me that way, you should be proud of the fact. I'm certain all those beautiful women that surround your boss, don't mean anything. All they want is attention or money, your the only one that he's truly proud of."

Hanabi knew Hinata was more than beautiful, especially after seeing her sister in her best, and in her worse. It was a shame people couldn't see past the clothes that she wore with mixed match patterns and obnoxious or gray tones.

As time ticked by, there was still no sign of Shino until a text message came in saying something urgent happened, but he would be alright. Not deciding to dwell on it too much the trio continued on, "look here Hinata, your boss won't reach that goal he made. The way things are going, he won't be able to reach it."

Sighing, she nodded her head, "yes I know that perfectly well. I've told him and Shikamaru-san, and Naruto-kun as well."

"Well then, what are you going to do? You never told me what you're going to do when he can't reach that goal. If I recall, that means he has to give up the company."

Hinata bit her bottom lip, "well Sasuke-san wants me to manipulate the numbers for tomorrow." Lee's eyes shifted between the two sisters as he stood up, a wave of nausea hitting him. "What?! Manipulate the forms, that means your going to have too… fool around with the figures."

"W-well yes I have too or his head will roll."

"And then what? Are you really going to do this? Hinata-hime that is way too delicate of a situation for a woman like you to be in."

"Yes, of course, I know that Lee. It's a delicate thing. The thing is... Sasuke-san won't be cheating anybody. He's doing this, just to gain some time. To just relax the family, and accommodate things and he will be able to reach that goal."

Lee frowned, all of a sudden not really liking that man. "Well, for that guy you're willing to do anything..." Hanabi eyed her sister carefully and decided to stay still, "I just can't refuse to do that job, Lee. Sasuke-san defended me, he just promoted me too... its the least I can do."

"Oh Hinata, please think about it clearly. If they find out that form is manipulated you're going to go on the street."

"We'll both be on the streets if I don't fake that form_. I _would end up on the street. Do you really think they're going to keep me working at S&amp;U Fashion if Sasuke-san leaves? If Sasuke-san has his presidency taken away, forget about it, Lee. That's why I have to do this, I'm not doing it just for him but for my job as well. For me to get that job... I just can't give up."

Lee sat there silently and nodded at the end, a flame burning inside of him after seeing how passionate Hinata was. "Alright, then let's do this! To fake that form, we are going to have to fake every other department of the company. Now how about all that information? Is it protected?"

Hinata gave him a small smile, "yes all the information is on my computer. They can't get in, plus I have the original copies on the USB's." Lee nodded in understanding, "is there no danger in anybody getting in your computer?"

For a second Hinata paused in wondering the same thing.

On the other side of town, Kankuro had been slaving away trying to figure out Hinata's password but to no avail.

"You know what, I don't think anybody would even attempt it. Going into the president's office, especially to do something like that."

Lee tilted his head, "but if they did?"

Hinata smiled, "they would have to be an expert or know the passwords. Only an outsider could get access to the computer."

Coincidentally, Kankuro had done exactly that, and in comes a computer specialist. "So how may I help you, sir."

"I need information from this computer. The thing is, I don't have that secretary's number to ask her for her code. I need to immediately, and urgently to get in that computer." The other man gave a short nod and sat down, "sure sir let me figure it out."

Lee turned to Hinata quickly, "even if they wanted to get in, he would have to contact an expert, especially at this hour if there's a real interest."

"Oh just forget about it Lee, you're making me paranoid. Yes, I guess, a technician could enter that computer. Although all the files that have that information are coded. He would have to do a lot more than get my password."

The short man, even though he entered the computer couldn't open a single file, "I'm sorry but there's not much I can do. Actually, what you need is to have a lot of patience. She booby-trapped the computer, nobody can get in. Even David Copperfield would have trouble getting in. That woman has codes and passwords that only she can get too. My advice to you is try contacting her and ask for the right codes."

Kakuro gave a small nod, seeing as there wasn't much he could do. "Oh, don't you worry about that, I will figure how to fix this tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir, excuse me, sir." Kankuro stopped him, "wait, one more minute engineer, you haven't seen or heard anything alright..."

As an hour passed by, Lee paced around the room. "Look Hinata, I understand why you want to manipulate the figures but in doing so, you won't reach that goal. People will find out that you won't reach that goal." Hinata finished scribbling something down and kept her eyes cast down, "true is that Sasuke-san is going to have to change his strategy. He's going to have to continue dropping the quality of the materials. Drop the costs to the maximum, the he's going to have to fix production levels as well."

Lee scratched the back of his head, unsure if he should pursue the topic further, "well, Hinata... that is very dangerous. What I don't understand is why doesn't Sasuke-san just confess to his family once and for all, instead of trying to reach that goal and manipulate that form. He's just putting the company in danger. That is, what I believe, is the most dangerous."

Hinata nodded her head, "yes.. he knows that, but I think Sasuke-san does it because of honor. Do you understand, he wants to show the Sabaku's, and his family what he's worth. I think mostly his father than anyone else."

Back at Fugaku's house, they're now having dinner, and Sakura wasn't going to stop with her version of the truth. "You should have seen him, he went on her side and pushed me aside. So here I was, standing next to Kakashi with no power." Mikoto sighed and placed her chopsticks over the pristine red bowl, "he didn't go over your head, Sakura. He did, though, get them punished. The thing that really has you so angry is that they punished Ino, your friend."

Sakura shook her head, meeting Mikoto eye to eye, "no, no that's not it. The thing that hurts me the most is that I think he's blinded her. The thing that hurts me the most is that he has lost his horizon. First he did that ridiculous and unnecessary motion at the club over her. Now she is going to get promoted."

Mikoto tilted her head, "what was she so badly dressed or what?" Mikoto was never one to truly judge someone based on their appearance, but from the rumors that were going around and the scandal Sakura had made, she had assumed it had to be of something of that matter. Sakura covered her face and inhaled deeply, "oh she looked horrible, just horrible. Well, who cares, if she presents herself badly. Well, it's just that, she doesn't give enough for the company. Look.., I don't want to come here, and complain to you both. I don't want you to demand Sasuke-kun that she shouldn't be promoted, or for her to get fired, the only thing that I ask of you is just try to open his eyes about her. That woman could be very intelligent, but he is giving her too space where she could spread her wings and fly."

Fugaku only closed his eyes, hands crossed over his chest, "Yes.. we must discuss this with him. It's fortunate for us that he waited to announce this till the council meeting tomorrow. I'll have a talk with him."

Without a second to spare, Sasuke opened the door to his home and Sakura quickly whispers under her breath, "this conversation didn't occur." Fugaku and Mikoto quickly nod, "agreed."

"Father, how are things?"

"Well... Shisui sends his regards. He will do the impossible and come for your wedding." Giving a curt nod he goes to his mom and gives her a kiss on the top of her head, "Mom..." Mikoto smiled warmly up at him, "oh I have missed you Sasuke, how are you?"

"I'm well ..." Mikoto smiled once more, "we were just discussing the wedding preparations. Sakura has just mentioned that Temari is now in charge of the preparations. That's great."

"Hm, or so it seems."

Going over to give Sakura a kiss, she just gave him the cold shoulder and moved away slightly. Seeing the small interaction Fugaku thought now was better than never, "Sasuke, come to my office for a moment. If you will excuse us..."

Once the boys have left, both women look to each other for different reasons. "Sakura..." Her tone of voice sharp and crisp, sending a shiver down the pinkette's spine. "That is true, yes it's a bit paranoid that a man like Sasuke, who is always surrounded by countless of beautiful women gets mixed up in something so awful and having arguments with you over an insignificant simple woman."

Sakura's eye widen, "I-I just think that she's bewitched him. He can't even stand Ino, it so much so that I don't know how far it will go. I know that one day, she might end up with the company." The last part of her sentence turned into a whisper. That woman had eyes too keen for her own good.

The fact that Sakura's thought had reached such a point kinda disappointed the female Uchiha and made her mentally sigh. "Sakura... look, I am also with you in regards to worrying about her, I will have your back, but you are doing something very, very grave. You're mixing two components, your intimate relationship with Sasuke, and your work... they have to be separate. You're going to end up ruining your future matrimony, Sakura."

Smiling, Mikoto decided to stir the pot, "you don't think that Sasuke is doing all this for another reason, maybe one where they're having something together?"

Sakura internally flinched, but she wouldn't let Mikoto see it, at least not yet. "Oh come on, that would be absurd. Look, she might be a very intelligent woman but she's not an idiot. In the mornings, she looks at herself in the mirror and faces the cruel reality. Yes... that I can't stand her, but she's not that kind of woman one has to fight with, I won't do that either. It's like fighting against Sasuke's likes. We can criticize him all we want, but he doesn't have a bad taste in choosing women. At the end of the day, I'm the one he's marrying."

Mikoto's finger tapped gently against the ceramic tea cup, '_oh how you've fallen, Sakura_.'

Inside the studio Sasuke was fighting against his father tooth and nail about all of Sakura's accusation, a grunt and scoff after another he was finally getting through to his father.

"-it seems you're only half informed. Yes, she will be promoted, the other matter that we just discussed is plainly false. I will tell you, the one that is actually doing something is Hinata." His tone of voice was flat, but sometimes his anger would seep through once his father would avoid eye contact. "She's basically my assistant right now, she works as my secretary. She's even now my financier, she's doing it all while Ino who is just annoyed at the attention Hinata is getting, ends up feeding Sakura the wrong information. She's poisoning Sakura's mind against Hinata."

Fugaku placed his cup of whiskey on the table, "aren't you just a bit harsh with Ino? If I recall, she did a great job on the last council meeting. Those forms were marvelous, no one should disrespect the work that she did- why are you smirking, Sasuke?"

"Ino isn't that _marvelous_ woman that you think that she is. No... tomorrow at the council meeting, you will see for yourself who is the real marvelous employee."

Both men's eyes turned red, tomatoes at a moment swirling slowly. "Yes, we will see, Sasuke."

So... what do you guys think? Do you like it? I introduced some new characters and set up some unique alliances.

* * *

Sooooo?

What did you guys think?

Did you like it? Cause I know I had fun writing this chapter it. It came together very fast. Some good news is that I have the whole fan fiction thought out and the only thing left is for me to write it. You guys are going to flip when shit hits the fan.

So go ahead and tell me what you guys think. I'm really looking forward to your reviews this chapter! ((Also, study if you need to.))

The Count, Kennedy.


	14. Omake 1: Ino's Dream!

Hello everyone! How are you? I'm doing well, so don't worry about me. Hopefully school if doing well and everyone's done with finals. For those not in school but working retail, you are strong, and beautiful. You can do this! -high fives you through the computer-

Alright, so let's get down to business. I wrote this little omake today in about 2 hours. I thought it would be nice to see things from Ino's calm perspective for a change. It's nothing big, just something to hold you guys off for a bit until I most the next chapter - which is halfway done by the way. For those that don't know what's going on, you can read the header for the chapter before this one and it explains why I'm doing such a thing.

For those that don't know or have forgotten, omake's are pretty much summed up as extra or bonuses in anime's or mangas. Like a side story or after the credits roll a character talks about something that happened in the show. My omakes will be related to the story, but as quick or short stories no longer than 2k words that contain humor, or something about a character that's not seen a lot in the original story line of this fanfic.

I hope you guys enjoy this! Also, Merry Christmas, and for those that don't celebrate anything, or celebrate something else, happy holiday to you as well! Stay safe, buckle up, and do the best you can.

The Count,  
Kennedy

* * *

**Omake 1: Ino's Dream**

"Oh isn't Sasuke-kun just amazing? I wonder if he's alright though..."

Her hands gripped the railing as she stared intently as his sensei disappeared with the young Uchiha in a puff of smoke. Everyone but practically Shikamaru, the Sand and Sound trio had been impressed at the spectacle.

Shikamaru stuffed a groan and Choji, to her left, kept eating his chips in peace. The trio were tired from their earlier battle in the Forest of Death, so it was almost a bit of a surprise that Sasuke had so much strength to fight. Especially in his condition.

"Ino, don't you think of anything else but Sasuke?"

The blonde pouted and flung her hair over her shoulder, head high nose in the air. Right as she was about to give a quick and sly answer, the scenery changed dramatically to a forest type with some planks of wood.

Her hair was longer and her outfit a little more revealing. In this scene she had been crying as a familiar and annoying bun headed girl was comforting her. To make it better, she had sworn Sakura, Choji, dog boy, and a girl and a boy she couldn't place her finger on where there as well. Tenten in her dream defended her from Kiba to top it off.

The dream spiraled out of control once more and it quickly flashed to her pushing Choji out of the way from an incoming attack! The scenes flashed faster and faster until they came to a quick blur where the last one that she remembered was her giving Hinata a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the tag saying something about 'congratulations' and 'wedding'. Was she getting married? Where they really that close? And Ino knew it was her who did it too because that flower arrangement was done in only her style.

Waking up in a cold sweat, eyes wide opened, she sat up on the bed groggily. The palm of her hand wiped some sweat off her brow, and then quickly turned over to check her temperature.

"Wh-what the hell was that about? I really need to stop eating ramen with Naruto..."

Groaning, she flung the pristine white sheets off of her and turned her head to the side staring out the window. Ever since she started working at S&amp;U Fashion, she's been having an easier time remembering her dreams while also seeing how clear they were. It freaked her out as how vivid they were sometimes, she could even remember smelling certain scents. Taking in a deep breath she recalled it once more going one by one with everyone she saw, trying to see how normal is was to dream of them.

"Shikamaru and Choji..." It was normal, she went to high school with both of them, works with the first, and was marries to the later. Her mind drifted off to her ex-husband, eyes longing to see him once more, even just to hold his hand. Eyes half closed, she reached over towards the stand and slowly, and gently, put away the wedding picture of Choji and her away. It was an absolutely adorable picture. Ino wore a strapless and simple, sweetheart Valentino gown, while Choji had a traditional tux on. The duo both had blushes on their faces, cheeks tainted with red. She had a bad habit of looking at it before she went to sleep, one she needed to get rid of it soon as it only kept making her a bitter morning person.

Suppressing the thought of him, she went down the list.

Sakura and Sasuke. That combo was weird. She had remember liking him in middle school, was practically over him once she fully got to know Choji during early highschool and let Sakura take reign of him. So it was strange, and almost surreal she had dreamed about that exact part. Dreaming of Sakura on the other hand was quite, well normal for the blonde. She had known Sakura ever since she started elementary school and was adopted in the Sabaku family. Although she was always quite weary of dreams with Sakura in them, they tended to hold too much truth in them.

Quickly taking back her previous statement, Kiba and Tenten were truly the weird combo. That bun headed girl did nothing but get on her nerves whenever her little goody two-shoes friend came around. Scoffing at the thought she admitted, that at least in her dream she could be kind and saw Ino as someone remote to a friend. Kiba on the other hand was an annoyance, in her dreams and in person. Shaking her head she didn't bothering thinking about the dog boy anymore than she needed.

The last people were the girl and boy she couldn't recognize, but knew if she kept thinking about them it would make sense. Tossing that thought aside she thought about the last fragmented dream, the one of that bouquet of flowers.

There were Lily of the Valleys as decoration meaning happiness, and Baby breaths as well for the innocence she possessed, and the main flower were white Anemone. A beautiful bouquet all around, and she probably guessed the bride was wearing a red one on her hair. If Ino thought about it anymore than she already had, she would have said Hinata and Naruto made a cute couple in the dream.

'_They'd probably end up having two kids or something with a cute house and plants everywhere. Pfft, as if that'll ever happen_.'

Sighing again she stood up and went to get some left over pudding from the night before, making sure to scoop it all out and into her favorite cup with the largest spoon she could find. Ino scratched he back of her calf with the nail from her big left toe, even though it was unladylike, a half asleep Ino didn't care about much.

Scratching her butt through her shorts, she plopped herself down back on the bed and took a long hard stare at her phone. Swiping right, then searching for Sakura's number as she muttered out loud to herself, her texting went full speed.

"You won't believe the dream that I just had. I'm serious this time, it even included the ugly duckling! (crying emoji face)

I think the worse part of all of this were those atrocious blue sandals. And to top it off, it wasn't even just me who was wearing them, but all of us. (laughter and crying tears emoji faces) We had to have been Ninja's in another life, cause there's no way you're making me wear those unless we're going off to war and fighting for the same cause!"

Turning off her phone, she tried to get a few more moments of sleep before she had to wake up again. Finishing off the last of her pudding, Ino moaned in bliss once she got comfy under the sheets and fell into a deep slumber.

Coincidentally, she ended up telling Hinata the same team work line a day later.

* * *

What do you guys think? Short and sweet, no?  
Well, don't worry about it lol. Every omake I make will be different, and based on a different character or a small situation that happened in the story.

Enjoy guys!

The Count,  
Kennedy


	15. Chapter 14: Hinata's Stand and the Senju

Hello, everyone! How are you? Hopefully good. Oooh, this chapter is going to be good. I don't know how I feel about the bottom half of it, but I think it's something everyone would enjoy. Warning, though, there will be blood and gore. Aside from that, thank you to those that reviewed the little Omake I made. See? They're kinda short, sweet and to the point.

That aside, I can't wait to see how you guys react to Lil Hinata and her big day. Hopefully, everything goes well for her!

The Count,  
Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Hinata's Stand and the Senjus' Fall**

In a beautiful tight red dress, Ino came in with her hair down, bangs swept meticulously to the side. "Hood morning, Sasuke-kun..."

The Uchiha heir didn't even acknowledge her.

"I thought you were Hinata..."

Ino frowned, "not even remotely. She wished she looked like me. Anyways, I came over so we could review the lunch plans for today-"

'_And I wish you were her right now_.'

"I'm sure you'll do a great job." His eyes kept focused on the documents in front of him, studying them again and again until he saw a flash of indigo almost miss him by running behind Ino.

"Hinata..."

The two girls shared an annoyed look at one another and then stared at Sasuke. "How's the preparation for the meeting coming along?"

She parted her lips to speak but only sighed, "they're on schedule, but like I said, I-I would still need until noon." He nodded in understand and let her go into her own little office, his mind focusing back on his paper.

After what Ino would consider an awkward exchange, she continued on, "as I was saying, I was thinking, seeing as Fugaku and Mikoto are coming back, we should-"

"Leave, now..." His tone of voice wasn't a friendly one and from the exchange that just occurred, it looked like it could only go downhill from there. Trying not to get so cut up on it, she nodded her head and left, closing the door behind her.

Coincidentally, Kankuro was passing by, and not being able to ignore the red dress, even in his peripherals, they made eye contact and greeted good morning to each other.

"Kankuro..."

"Ino... so tell me," he shifted his weight on one leg, "have any information on that form they were working on?"

Ino placed a hand on her hip and eyed him, "I guess. From what I could hear, they're still working on it. Were you able to find anything out in her computer last night?"

He shook his head in disagreement, "she has that more booby-trapped than any guy's phone I've ever seen. Regardless, it's very risky for them to present that form at the last moment."

"Risky?"

"Yes... It would be a great shame if something were to happen to that computer and the information would go missing or not be able to get shown in the meeting." Ino's eyes widened at his words. Did she just hear that correctly?

Back inside Sasuke's office Naruto and Shikamaru were seating next to each other, facing Sasuke.

"So, how's our favorite Uchiha doing?" The Uzumaki grinned from ear to ear.

"Probably horrible considering that the form isn't on his desk. Hinata must still be working on it."

Naruto blinked and cast a side glance at the closed door to his left, wondering for how long she had been working on it.

"Also, were you able to make peace with Sakura? Or did she just go pick up your parents to give them complains?" Hearing Sasuke sigh the second time, he got the hint.

"Look Sasuke-teme, I know we're tight on time, but it's in our best interest to have her on our side. We should have a small meeting with her and Sai before the big one with your parents and Gaara."

Shikamaru gave a curt not in agreement, "want me to call Tayuya or Ino." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "call them both. Tell them to have Sai and Sakura meet me in the usual conference room. I'll be there in a moment." Which was a good move on Sasuke's part considering that he didn't want to have any more problems with his future wife.

Ino, still with Kankuro, received the call and after doing what she was told looked up at him in amusement. "It seems the president's office will be empty in a bit, now all we need to do is find a way to get her out of there."

Kankuro looked up at the sky and thought for a split moment that the odds were probably going to be in his favor now. "That's the least of our worries. I'll take care of that." Quickly separating from her, he made his way to his office.

* * *

Once all three men were seated in the room, Sakura and Sai came in shortly after. Sakura dressed impeccably in an ombre black to gray, knee high, long sleeved simple dress. While Sai had his usual attire on, and crop top. The only difference is that there was a red fabric thrown over his shoulder.

"Alright, Sasuke, what is it now? What mosquito bit your ass? Can't you see I'm more than occupied at the moment?"

Naruto grinned, "you're a bullfighter today, Sai?"

Even Shikamaru couldn't help but join in, "get to your corner, Cezar."

Sai on the other had cracked them a smile and took a seat next to Sakura, who had already sat down by Sasuke's left.

"This will be short, Sai, we're all low on time. I gathered you both to discuss the current-"

"You know what Sasuke, we should talk about this," he took off the fabric from his shoulder and flung it on the table, glaring daggers at it. "Let's talk about that disgusting fabric, and I know it's not the Aburame's because they've never failed us before. If I didn't know any better, having that woman around you is lowering your taste."

Sasuke didn't budge, but Naruto was more than uncomfortable at hearing such things.

Sakura, on the other hand, didn't agree to straight forward but wasn't going to miss on landing a punch. "Even if you don't like Sai's comment, you have to admit she's making you deaf to anyone's advice. The company can be doing horrible, but if she says it's doing well, then it is."

Shikamaru stepped in, "Sakura, with all due respect, if anyone knows how this company is doing, it's us. Which is why he gathered you guys here, so Sasuke could take the tiresome paranoia away from you guys."

Ten minutes into the mini-conference and Sakura was already standing up, hands on her hips. "- and that's fine Sasuke, but you can't deny that we haven't been sustaining losses in our northern sector!"

Sasuke tread carefully, "I'll never deny you that truth, Sakura, but it shouldn't matter. Yes, that store still hasn't been launched, but from the gross amount we make from this new collection, that store will be paid off and it'll be slow, but steady increase in sales."

Sai, on the other hand, wasn't feeling it. "We're losing clientele because of this, Uchiha. I'm just informing you."

The Nara's head sighed, glaring slightly at the other brunette, "enough is enough, Sai. We get it, you're not happy with the quality of the fabrics, but stop overreacting. This is the first time since the company has started that we lowered our rank by a small fraction. Besides, it's not the quality that's the problem, it's the government. Our country has been in the brink of a recession for years, Sai."

"Hmm..."

"Not to mention their going to raise taxes on everything starting next year because of Sarutobi."

That was something that everyone in the room quietly agreed on, although it wasn't enough for Sai.

"We've been receiving complaints, Uchiha..."

Naruto sat up, staring at Sakura then Sai, "from how many people, Sai?"

Happily, he turned and faced Sakura. "Sakura, so they don't call me nosy, and seeing as how you're in charge of the sales points, why don't you tell them."

Sighing, the pinkette did, "I don't have the exact number but there's been more than 70, and that's just here in Japan alone."

Naruto wiggled his nose and twirled his thumbs together, "I mean, that doesn't sound that bad. Let's say there's been 100 complaints in about, roughly two months or so; that doesn't sound half bad to be considering we've made about $180 million in profit."

Sakura shook her head, slamming her hands on the table. "That's not the point, Naruto. The point is that this company has literally had a clean and perfect slate. Not one single complaint since the beginning of it all. And all three of you know this."

"We know that, Sakura, but we've not going to start an apocalypse over it."

"Enough. I brought you guys here specifically so we wouldn't speak about the quality of the clothing in the conference today. It's not because of the sales, it's because the sales are high and we're doing good."

Sai scoffed under his breath as Sakura took in a deep breath, "and to prove it further, it'll be in the report for the meeting."

The duo looked at each other, thinking that peace was the best solution in times of war, despite Sai's circumstance. "Fine, have it your way, Sasuke. I won't mention it, but if someone else does, then I won't hesitate to add in." A short pause filled the air and he picked up the red fabric from the table and flung it over his shoulder again.

"Haku and the girls are waiting for me. I'll be going, ole."

Naruto laughed as Shikamaru grinned with Sai's dramatic, but necessary exit. Seeing it was also their cue as Sasuke and Sakura kept staring at each other, the other pair left the engaged couple to themselves.

"Sakura..."

The pinkette sighed and moved closer towards him, sitting on the table right in front of him. "The problems in this company are tearing us apart, Sasuke. I just want to find a solution so we can stop this senseless fighting. And to be fair, it's not even the problems of the company themselves, but the one about your 'personal assistant' as well. Not only do you become irritable, but also untouchable if anyone dares say anything to you that goes against her."

Sasuke tapped his finger against the table and let hover over her thigh for a moment. "What would you like me to do then, retract my statement of her ascension or fire her?" He wasn't going to either of them, but he needed to hear her reasoning as well.

"No, neither. I just don't want you to blow things out of proportion. I understand, and I will give her this, she is very smart. You don't go through all those years of school, work under Tsunade, and have your master's for nothing. What I'm trying to say Sasuke is that she can't be the public spokesperson for this company. She has no class.."

"And you think Ino has class? Do you think she has class when she told Hinata all those insults?" His tone flat. She was going to say something but Sasuke beat her to it. "Do you think she has class when she manipulates you and lies to you so she can take credit for all the handwork Hinata does, Sakura?"

Her eyes diverted to anything else but Sasuke's face. "I know, and you don't understand how much I've reprimanded her for it."

Both of them stood up ready to leave, "Sakura, just do me a favor and don't let Ino get the best of you, or us..." Without another word, they separated and Sasuke went back to his office.

"Hinata what's your progress with the form?" Hearing nothing for a moment, he rose an eyebrow and repeated the question again. For a moment, Sasuke didn't know exactly what to do because it was more than strange that his secretary didn't reply to him, especially one that's always on top of everything like Hinata.

"Oi... Hinata..." Walking in he spotted the cramped, and musky area empty of her. Peering over the table, never being one to snoop around, noticed the computer was off and some flowers in the garbage.

'_No wonder it always smells like lavender in the morning...' _He just thought it was a shame she threw them out still seeming so fresh. Right as he stepped out Hinata came in with a unique look on her face, and for some reason, it didn't sit well with the Uchiha.

"Where were you?"

Her eyes snapped open as she realized what had happened, "oh sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean to be away for so long. Kankuro-san had asked me to go over for a moment to check out these papers with today's information, but I really didn't find them necessary-!"

The papers were snatched out of her hands as Sasuke quickly glanced over them and tore them apart, effectively throwing them in the trashcan.

"Go, no more wasting time."

Hinata was more than in shock at his sudden change of attitude but kept her lips sealed. Nodding, she disappeared into her tiny office leaving Sasuke to think about the actions he had done, and why he was feeling a twinge of relief in him. His cell phone vibrated inside his back pocket and he instantly took it out to see it was Tenten.

"What is it?"

"You're parents are here, Sasuke-san."

Inwardly he sighed and tried his best to not let his anger and nerves get the better of him, "tell them I'll meet them now. To just wait there." And quickly hung up. Downstairs Tenten gave Kiba a quick glance and hung up the phone.

"Kiba..."

He casually looked up from his manga, "yeah?"

"My favorite foods are Sesame dumplings and Chinese food."

Now the dog boy was lost. "O-okay? Why do I need to know this."

"That way you'll know what to give as offerings in my funeral. Sasuke hung up on me before I could tell him his parents were already on their way to meet him." Kiba whistled under his breath and gave her a lopsided grin, "now that's rough. What's your favorite flower?"

"The lotus flower, why?"

"So I know what to put on your tombstone."

Back upstairs, the tension was more than Hinata could handle after having Sasuke give order after order seeing she couldn't print out the information. "What do you mean it won't turn on?" Having just about had it, she stood up and clenched her hands by her sides. "Stop talking to me like that!"

Sasuke, for what seemed like forever was taken back by the shorter woman's statement. Sighing he took a step away from her and heard her out. "I saved it in my USB, and I could print it out then, but pl-please don't speak to me like that."

"Yeah, Sasuke-teme, give her a break." Hinata didn't look at either of them, but Sasuke at the moment didn't care about Naruto's word but was curious about how long he had been standing at the doorway that neither of them noticed.

"Hinata-chan said she had a copy of everything, so all she has to do is print it out, right?"

Neither of them said anything as Naruto sighed and went over closer to the duo. "What's up with you guys anyways, what happened?"

"What happened, Naruto, is that someone sabotaged this computer. It's not about a matter of having a backup or not, but the fact that someone in here tried to take or attempted to make my meeting today a total failure."

Naruto's frown deepened and he leaned over, placing a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder which cause her slightly jump up. "Go downstairs Hinata and print it out, we'll be here waiting for you." Without a second thought and more than grateful at Naruto's gentle tone and kind smile, she hurried away. Once she was out of earshot, the fox growled at the raven.

"Come one Sasuke! That's not fair, you shouldn't treat her like that, she's saving your ass for Kami's sake." The young Uchiha only stared at the lavenders in the trashcan closely.

"Where's Shikamaru?"

Naruto sighed again and crossed his arms over his chest, "attending to your parents with Sakura in the meeting room. Look, as I was saying-"

"Someone poured water in Hinata's computer. If she didn't have that backup, my head would be rolling right now, Naruto. Because of this hassle and set back, she might even have to present the form to the council." Red eyes met wide and bright cerulean ones.

"Wait... what?" Sasuke looked around the room and fixed his tie, "she's the only one that knows what's in there, there's no way we would be able to deceive Gaara and Kankuro like that otherwise."

Naruto's hand twitched at his side for a moment, "Shit... "

In the council room, Fugaku sat to the head chair's left followed by Mikoto and an all too happy Sakura. "- just wanted to say that Sasuke and I made up after all. We decided to separate our private life from our work one."

Mikoto, acting a bit too surprised for her own good, still congratulated the younger woman. "I'm so happy for you, Sakura. That's great to hear."

"Good morning," both Kakashi and Kankuro stated seconds from each other as they gave a deep bow to the former head.

"Yes, good morning. How are things in the company?" Kakashi blinked and pretended the question wasn't set to him as well and took a seat next to Sakura who only giggled under her breath once she saw her brother acting nervous. "We-well that's not something I can say not. It'll have to wait once the meeting start."

Fugaku, unamused as always, nodded his head and practically dismissed the younger man.

Making his way in, Sasuke greeted the people currently present and bowed to his parents. "Father, mom." Fugaku gave a curt nod and Mikoto flashed him a large smile, then quickly took a seat. In that moment, a slightly disheveled Gaara walked in, an all too annoyed look on his face as he sent Sasuke a quick glare.

"Fugaku, Mikoto, pleasure to see you're back. I hope your trip was to your satisfaction." The couple gave curt nods, one more enthusiastic than the other.

"Sasuke, what a coincidence you're as pale as always when it comes to meetings."

Sakura groaned and exchanged a worried look with Kankuro. "Well, let us start with reviewing the form, shall we Sasuke?" The Uchiha thought hanging the red head with his tie would have been a suitable death for him.

"That won't be possible at the moment-"

Shikamaru quickly cut him off, sitting next to Kakashi, and coughed under his breath. "We've been having more than severe issues with our printing, which is why, even if the form is done, it's not currently printed in front of you. May I propose something..."

Ino, who had been taking everyone's order of whether they wanted water, coffee, or tea, stopped in her tracks once she heard Shikamaru's words. Kankuro visibly stiffened but went unnoticed by everyone except Gaara.

"... we could go watch Sai's new collection and get a feel of everything while Hinata finishes the printing job."

Everybody exchanged curious glances as Sasuke gave Shikamaru a thankful nod, to which the Nara's head did not acknowledge, seeing as the battle wasn't over. Fugaku silently agreed with Sasuke, and Mikoto and the rest of the body agreed as well. All stood up and went down the elevator until the last party, Kankuro and Gaara were left to go.

"Tell me what's going on, Kankuro."

"Apparently, that little secretary of his, the one with the dorky round glasses and almost indigo hair, has everything in that computer bypass code. It was impossible to get in." Kankuro finished with a smirk as the elevator doors opened and engulfed them both in.

"That print problem is your fault, isn't it, Kankuro."

"Not precisely. I had someone sabotage her computer, so I'm assuming they're using the ink problem to stall for time."

Gaara closed his eyes and mentally sighed, the elevator doors opening snapped him out of it, "pray to whatever Kami you believe in, you and your little accomplice don't get caught in this pathetic underhanded attempt. If not, you'll be like a dog in the streets and I'll be gone."

Arriving late, Temari and Naruto, with Hinata by his side, had joined the crowd as they watched the woman, and few men roll down the runaway. Each had a more extravagant look than the other with colors like Rose Quartz and Serenity Blue. Gaara eyed the woman by Naruto's side and frowned, not only was she ruining his plans of taking over, but she bumped into him earlier today. It had been such a hard '_accidental' _shove that he had almost ended up tumbling over her. The only thing that saved her was his landing, both his forearms against either side of her blushing face.

Sasuke on the other hand, once he saw her he immediately grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her closer to him, "how's everything." His voice husky and deep against her ear, his hot breath tickling her skin.

For a flustered second, she didn't know what to say but regained her composure. "Ah, everything's fine, and the other secretaries are placing the folders in their respected a-areas."

"Hinata, listen and listen closely. It'll be up to you to present that report."

She instantly froze, her breathing became uneven that even Naruto threw them a worried glance. "M-me?"

"You're the only person who knows the numbers, and what was done. Naruto, Shikamaru and I won't stand a chance against Gaara otherwise. Will you be alright going up against Gaara?" He slowly let go of her wrist and shoved his hand in his pocket, unsure as to why he had done it. Shikamaru who had been listening in intently, and with much trouble, agreed with Sasuke's decision and gave her a thumbs up when she looked his way. As the fashion show progressed onwards and Sai finished his long speech, everyone headed back, much to both Gaara and Sasuke's delight. Who knew at this moment which one was more anxious.

* * *

"Good... good afternoon everyone." The crowd inside the conference room was quiet, Kakashi seeing her nervous smile just gave a light wave, Naruto a large grin, and Shikamaru a thumb's up. Fugaku and Mikoto on the other hand just exchanged a curious glance.

"Hinata have a seat, please," once she sat down he continued on, "I wanted to invite Hinata Nagumo to this meeting because she was the one who finished tying any loose ends in the form we're presenting. Which is why I thought it would only be fair for her to explain." Kakashi, not buying it gave the Hyuga a sympathetic glance and wondered how many hours of overtime she worked. The thoughts were short lived once Gaara's strong and imposing voice resonated inside the room.

"And apparently she's the one that runs the company."

Mikoto's eyes widened, but she didn't dare say anything, Sasuke and Hinata only ignoring him.

"Hinata, begin."

Without a moment of hesitation, she placed a long strand of indigo hair behind her ear and flipped open the folder.

"Inside the folder each one of you holds, you'll find the financial statements until the last court date. Afterward, you'll find a detailed analysis of the company from Sasuke-san's starting date to the now closing date that will include sales, operational expenses, and financial expenses." Everyone slowly started to flip through the pages, allowing themselves to be completely swallowed by it.

Kakashi from the first moment he saw it could tell where all of this was going. Sasuke couldn't get everything to add up and had to falsify the numbers. Seeing from the corner of his good eye, Shikamaru was studying everybody's facial expressions and mannerism to the T, not letting anyone skip through his soft, but analytical gaze.

"During these two months of management from Sasuke-san, you can see a detailed consolidated report, and a synthesis report and development increase from each department of the company."

Gaara quickly cut in, "and where are those forms from each department?"

Hinata quickly retaliated back, "towards the end of the report, Gaara-san."

Kankuro gave a low whistle under his breath when he heard the stressed suffix at the end of Gaara's name and leaned over towards his brother. "This is the moment where we'll see if they've been saying the truth or not."

Once Gaara and Kankuro had finished their little moment, Hinata continued. Shikamaru, on the other hand, wasn't missing a beat from the estranged brothers. "As you can see in the beginning, the sales didn't reach the projected growth because of the recession in certain sectors. Despite that, the company has maintained a favorable behavior, and stable as well."

Sasuke just counted his lucky stars and wondered how many were on his side. Sakura was quite surprised at how well she was handling the situation, not even stuttering once. On another note, the comments started flying from each department and Fugaku especially, which Hinata had no problem holding her ground and establishing a solid answer for each.

"Fugaku-san, I understand where you're coming from and your need to invest and get Sasuke-san to follow the same route, but at the moment investing more in US dollars would be too risky. Especially after having that discussion about Sarutobi-san's raise on taxes a moment ago. It would even more so of a risk when most of our sales are located in domestic markets, and we're only exporting 22%."

Taking in a deep breath, this time directing her attention towards Fugaku, she continued on. "To counteract such a risk, we would have to start exporting 27% of production, that way there will be an increase in the exporting portfolio and it will start to compensate for the foreign currency."

Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru all had the same thought at the same time, 'we knew you were good, but we never knew you were that good.'

"Also," this time her attention switched between Gaara and Sakura, "because there are so many accidents during inventories, those will be put in international markets."

Temari only gave a low laugh towards Kankuro. "I told you, she'd know it by heart. Way to go, Hinata. Clean and clear, very well done." Having it been one of the first times the blonde woman had ever said anything her way, she politely gave a nod back and a small smile. Gaara wasn't the least bit convinced.

"Sound quite lovely, but could all that beauty be true?" An emerald sea clashed against two pairs of eyes filled with oceans of obsidian.

"Well... Gaara-san, the evaluation of the Yen in front of the US Dollar makes the prices, of whoever is exporting from our country, very competitive which is why we've already been making contact with markets in the United States."

Moments of silence filled the room afterward as Fugaku and Gaara kept reading the numbers, again and again, Gaara doing more than necessary calculation in his head. "With all due respect to everyone in the room, I don't understand how it is possible the profit remain so high when it's evident there's been a decrease in sales."

All eyes shifted over towards Hinata's frame, who hadn't moved an inch. "Jut because the sales have lowered, doesn't mean that there hasn't existed profit. Lo-logically the company managed to lower the cost of the fabrication if anything you can read it in the form of Production costs."

"Don't worry, I will."

Hinata's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, amazed that man actually took out a calculator and started to punch in numbers. Sasuke had his fingers interlocked, glancing in between Gaara and his father every now in then. Everything was going so well, and they were so far in, they couldn't afford to lose now! Sai slid the door open with a non-so gentle force startling everyone at once, Naruto giving out a loud sigh.

"What's with the funeral?" Sai gave everyone a small smile and leaned against the now closed door.

"Sai please, just stay quiet and find a seat. We're trying to finish reviewing the report." Fugaku added, keeping his eye on Gaara's calculations.

"But Fugaku-kun, there can't even fit another size two model in here. Oh, Naruto, why don't you lend me your lap?"

Naruto crossed one leg over the other and then his arms over his chest, "I don't think so Sai. The interest rates would be too high for you to afford." Kakashi and Shikamaru gave a small chuckle in response.

"What about you, you handsome bachelor?" He stated towards the only redhead in the group but was completely ignored. "Love that fiery personality of your Gaara, don't ever let me down." And around the room he went and took a seat next to Kakashi, eyes dashing over the report in front of him.

Fifteen more minutes of agonizing pain and Gaara finally spoke with a sour tone in his voice. "Apparently the figures match."

Sasuke gave a low growl under his breath, "apparently nothing, Gaara. The figures match because it is what it is." Even Fugaku and Mikoto were having enough of this. "Gaara, if there's something you want to say, please say it. But stop planting this seed of mistrust all the time. It's as if you're always instigating and assuming that Sasuke is manipulating, or lying or to us with that report."

Fugaku and Sasuke looked at Mikoto with adoration and amazement. Usually, she wasn't much to say anything in the meetings, always going back at the end of them and giving her private and personal opinion. To Gaara, Mikoto was like the mother he didn't remember having, so to him her word was law. Giving a small nod of the head, he muttered an apology to the sympathetic Uchiha who only returned back a smile.

This time, the ex-head took over the conversation, trying to meet Hinata's gaze through the thick glasses. "Hinata-san, so according to you and your projections, Sasuke is meeting with his goals?"

Giving Sasuke a quick glance, she nodded her head and gave the older Uchiha a rare beautiful and charming smile. Gaara didn't miss it either, if he had eyebrows they would have been up by now in disbelief.

"As long as Sasuke-san keeps maintaining a growth of 17% and a profit of 14%, he'll calmly and easily make it to his goal."

Fugaku gave her a curt nod of approval. "Thank you for the wonderful report, Hinata... I'm sorry what was your last name?"

"Nagumo. Hinata Nagumo." Kakashi, on the other hand, wanted to call objection, but knew now wasn't the place and time. He'd probably have to smother her with flowers to let her, at least, listen to his apology afterward.

"What a curious last name, haven't heard of it before. But none the less, congratulations on the wonderful presentation." Mikoto added at the end.

"Thank you, once again. If you'll excuse me." Hinata stood up, and quickly left to open the doors but found a bickering Ino, Kin, Tayuya, and Tenten outside. Quickly she shut the doors behind her before they could say anything. Gaara watched her leave from the corner of his eye and mentally sighed.

"We might as well leave her with the presidency."

"She is in the presidency. Coincidentally her office is inside of mine." Sasuke quickly added at the end.

"Well, I just want to congratulate you as well, Sasuke. You did a wonderful job. Not only for being able to maintain the company in such high standards but also having such an invaluable secretary like Hinata."

Sasuke gave Sakura a quick glance and instantly the pinkette knew where this was going. "Secretary isn't the right word to use, mom."

"It's more than unfair for us to keep calling her secretary. I believe we should give her the recognition her profession deserves as an economist. Not only that but all the work she's done since she's arrived..." Shikamaru added quickly, and then took a sip of water.

"What Shikamaru says is correct, I believe we won't have any arguments over that."

Fugaku nodded in agreement, "yes, then I believe it is time to promote her to being the president's assistant. Are there any who disagree?"

Kami knows Sakura wanted to shout to the four winds 'foul' but changing an Uchiha's mind was like trying to teach a rock to speak, impossible. At least, the rock wouldn't give her a hard time about it. Naruto was more than ecstatic about it, as Shikamaru and Kakashi shared a lazy and knowing happy look for their new assistant. Seeing as everyone stayed quite, whether willingly or not, Gaara decided to finish it off.

"When will the next meeting take place."

Mikoto answered this one quickly. "Seeing as Sakura and Sasuke's wedding is only a few months away, we'll be back from London by that time, so I thought we could hold the meeting then." Fugaku quietly gave a short nod of approval.

Back outside, Ino and rest of the girls were into a heated argument.

"-and you don't scare me dumpling girl."

Tenten gasped and frowned, no one has called her dumpling girls since her elementary school days and lived to tell about it. "Oh yeah? Well, it doesn't scare me if you go around screaming like a mad woman saying we're trying to kill you. Not like it would matter because value you don't have, but tongue you have too much of."

"Guys please, let's calm down. What is it that you needed to give me?"

The space grew quiet and Kin and Tayuya grabbed Hinata by a shoulder and pulled her away. "It's confidential."

Once out of earshot, Kin took out her phone and speedily swiped through her images and video. "Well, it's no surprise, but rumors tend to fly pretty fast around here. Especially one where it concerns something as important as your computer." Hinata tilted her head to the side in mild confusion when she looked at the cell phone screen.

_"Don't worry about the image so much. Just listen." _

Placing the phone to her ear, what she heard made her gasp out loud, her eyes features looking scared as her bottom lip trembled with a mixture of sadness, fear, and anger.

_"Just pour water in it, it'll cause it to freeze and shut down..." there was static and then a low humming appeared in the background with a meticulous tick. "No one will know. Worse case scenario we'll blame it on the engineer. Tomorrow at the meeting is the moment where we'll see if they've been saying the truth or not_._" _

Then the phone looped the video again and Hinata gave it back to Kin. "Wha.. what? Kin, how did you find that?" The brunette sighed to herself and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was walking with Suigetsu to give Kiba a packet when both men received that video in a message. I watched it with them and instantly asked them to send it to me. There's no number, and even though we tried to locate anything that could lead us to it, we couldn't find anything. On a brighter note, now we know it didn't just happen out of anywhere, and there was someone or multiple people involved."

Hinata nodded silently to herself. "Kin, can you please send me the video, I need to show it to Sasuke-san immediately. He might know who it is, or, at least, have a clue." Without hesitation, the woman sends it to her friend. That same moment Fugaku stopped in front of the woman and eyed Hinata with a small smile. "I just wanted to say congratulation once more on a wonderful report, and that the council has announced you to be Sasuke's personal assistant."

Shocked, but utterly happy, Hinata gave her thanks in many more ways than with one simple bow. Mikoto followed closely behind and decided to close the gap and give her a quick and small one arm hug. "Now, don't abuse that power, alright? Keep up the good work."

With a blush and a smile, Mikoto only allowed for Hinata's heart to flourish with happiness, while also reminding her of her mother.

Sakura walked out and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She didn't like to admit it, but Hinata knew what she was doing, and whatever she did, Hinata did it right. "Thank you for the nomination, Sakura-san." The pinkette sighed and gave her a curt nod, not pressing the issue any further and leaving. Ino just leaned against the wall, thinking she would faint at any moment from the news.

"Remember Gaara, you'll always be welcomed here with open arms." Even though a bitter statement with a cold tone, Sasuke's remark held quite the truth in them.

"We'll be looking at the new fabric and machinery downstairs if anyone wishes to join, come now." Fugaku stated calmly, his eye lingering over Hinata for a split second too long.

"Oh, Gaara, I know this meeting has been a torture for you, but you wouldn't mind joining us for a few more minutes, right?"

Hearing his surrogate mother's words, Gaara gave a quick nod. "It's no torture at all, Mikoto. I'll be more than glad to join." Temari appeared with Kankuro behind her and gave her brother a sweet smile before joining the ex-president in his little explorations. Once everyone had left but Shikamaru, Naruto and Sasuke who were having a small chat in a corner, Hinata waved goodbye at her friends and made her way towards the trio of men.

"Excuse me, Sasuke-san... I think I know who the perpetrator might be."

Naruto, once he saw the new assistance to Sasuke come over was going to say something, but quickly shut his mouth at her words. Without any further notice, Shikamaru and he disappeared quickly into the crowd that was heading towards the elevator; the duo themselves were trying to figure out another defense strategy in case something like this happened. Without a second thought, he grabbed her by her wrist and quickly dragged her to the opposing elevators and into his office quickly. Throughout the whole time, Sasuke's mind didn't stop, the video playing on loop again and again until something clicked.

It wasn't exactly Kankuro's voice, but that was the same line he had used in the meeting today. Eyes narrowing, slide the door closed behind him and locked, eyes turning a crimson red, tomoes slowly rotating.

Kankuro was a dead man.

* * *

On the other side of town Tobirama was leaning his body against the kitchen entry "-hen it's not Shisui's ghost that's haunting you, is it? It's the inevitability of there being a man so bad that killing him felt good." Iruka stated in a soft manner, turning the stove on so he could put the water to boil.

"Killing Shisui felt just."

"Which is why you're here to prove that sprig of zest you feel is from saving Sasuke, not from killing his cousin."

"I didn't feel a sprig of zest when I shot Shisui Uchiha."

"You didn't, per say, kill Shisui." Both men took a seat on the table and Iruka crossed his fingers together, sending him another small smile.

"I thought about it. I'm still not entirely sure that wasn't my intention pulling the trigger."

"If your intention was to kill him, Tobirama, it's because you understand why he did the things he did."

Iruka's worried chocolate hues danced over to the teapot, waiting for it to pop at any moment, but was quickly snapped out of his trance once Tobirama spoke again. "It's beautiful in its own way giving voice to the unmentionable. I should've stuck to my desk job filing papers at the TMPD(1)."

The teapot hit a high whistling note and Iruka quickly went to move it to the side to sit for a moment. "It wasn't the act of killing Shisui that got you down, was it? Did you really feel so bad because killing him felt so good?"

"I liked killing Shisui. Killing must feel good to Kami too, he does it all the time." Tobirama answered honestly, unsure if he liked where any of this was going. His fingers gripped the handmade tea cup as Iruka handed him a tea bag with one hand and poured the hot water with the other.

"And are we not created in his image?"

"That depends on who you ask, Iruka. God's terrific. He dropped a church roof on 34 of his worshipers last Wednesday night in Kyoto while they sang a hymn. And did God feel good about that? Who knows, but I'm sure he felt powerful." The teacher turned therapist nodded in understanding and gave Tobirama a thoughtful glance. It was been four years sense he stopped being a teacher and started working as a therapist, but even six years before that Tobirama had been his unsubscribed patient. For the past decade after Hashirama's hospitalization, whether it was thundering or it was a heat wave Tobirama always came to visit once a month, and he never failed.

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I would have done things differently that day, and the day of the hearing as well, would things would have been different?" Iruka could see the hurt in the man's bloodshot eyes and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, knowing full well what he meant. After all, he was the one that found them on that bodied floor with Madara looking over their bodies with a distraught look on his face.

"You are alive, Tobirama because you didn't pull the glass out of your neck. Senju Hashirama is alive because Madara likes him."

The white haired man gingerly ran his fingertips along the diagonal scar on his neck a few inches longs. Tobirama's eyes narrowed dangerously at the brunette in front of him. It had been about ten years since the Senju brothers went on their little escapade to try and capture Madara, which ended horribly in their part. "Yes. I know. I apologize again for bothering you, Umino-san. We just can't let him keep running from justice like this." His tone of voice crack once the image and memories flooded in.

**[Flashback]**

The rain deafened the ears of anyone daring to be outside in that torrential thunderstorm, but even fate wouldn't have stopped the encounter of those six people. That day had been the day that Madara wanted to declare a feast because he would be gone for a long time, and he wanted his last memory of his friends to be a wonderful one until he'd come back. Madara would finish cooking dinner, pour some whiskey in every cup and hand out cigars to everyone, but just like his favorite hobby of dancing, it didn't last.

Tobirama entered the Uchiha's home with ease and silence, a dark atmosphere instantly surrounded him once he spotted Madara in the kitchen. He had been cutting and seasoning what seemed to be large slices of pork enough for everyone to have two servings.

"Tobirama, you're early today. Considering you're typically the last one to arrive." Madara's hand never stopped moving, just like the Senju's eyes over his frame.

"I couldn't wait to get here." His tone dry, the palms of his hands sweaty. Madara cast him a quick glance and slowly rotated the knife block, with half a dozen knifes in them towards Tobirama.

"Care to sous-chef(2)?"

Silence engulfed the two of them and Madara stopped cutting for a moment, leaning back and tilting his head to the side so his long hair wouldn't get in the way.

"I wanted to say thank you for your friendship, Madara."

His eyes darted back down to the pork and he continued to cook. "The most beautiful quality of a true friendship is the ability to understand and be understood with absolute clarity." He placed the knife down and moved over to take a bowl of celery in his hand.

"Then, for me... this is the clearest moment of our friendship."

Quickly and without hesitation, Tobirama took out the gun from the inner pocket of his jacket and aimed it to Madara's head but was quickly filled with pain once he noticed the Uchiha had thrown a knife at his hand, causing the gun to instantly fall to the ground. As Tobirama pulled the steel from his hand, he swung it at the man that was too fast for anyone's good. During the Senju's dilemma, Madara had jumped over the small kitchen island and closed the space between them, one step at a time and an impeccable fighting form.

Without being able to land a hit, and Madara seeing an opportunity, he elbowed Tobirama's arm and twisted it back allowing for the knife to all. His foot shoved the discarded knife away while both bodies struggled to take control with brute force. A swift knee and a now bloody nose didn't stop the white-haired man who quickly crouched down and wrapped strong arms around Madara's thinner frame, pushing him up and smacking his body against the glass cabinets. Quickly elbowing the same sweet spot on his right shoulder multiple times, Madara got his escape but Tobirama committed his first mistake and punched the older Uchiha onto the granite island. Madara's arm stretched and quickly got a hold of frying pan and flung it across the other man's head who kept him in a momentary haze, but gave the Uchiha a small breather.

Tobirama's second mistake was actually using that moment to dive for the knife that had fallen only seconds ago. Madara, not wanting to get any more blood on the floor had that already spilled because of their little spat, decided to end it quickly. He grabbed a long wash cloth and wrapped it around his left hand, the right one maneuvered the excesses cloth to capture the knife and swipe it away from Tobirama. Right as Tobirama thought he could fully make a move, Madara landed a devastating blow to his jaw, and then an uppercut so hard followed that the man gasped for air as he tried to get back up. Quickly, Madara opened the refrigerator door and swung it straight at the Senju's face, a loud snap and crack resonated in the air.

Right as he leaned over to grab another knife, the bloodied Senju stood up again, gaining a smirk from the Uchiha. Tobirama's third mistake was thinking he could outsmart the Uchiha that had created that twisted and sick little game. After effectively dodging a few more swing, Tobirama tried a series of straight forward punches followed by a left hook then a right uppercut but Madara was too clever for that. With one hand and using both their momentum, he downright shoved Tobirama onto the island and dived the knife down, aiming for the jugular. Just before it was too late, Tobirama grabbed the cutting board under him and held it at the nick of time in the right place, even though the piece of metal penetrated the wood quite easily and cleanly. With a hard shove and all the strength he could muster, Tobirama managed to get Madara off of him.

Still holding onto the cutting board, he effectively managed to swing it at Madara's hand, causing for the knife to fall once more. In that moment of hesitation, the Uchiha had about what his course of action should have been, Tobirama grabbed his tie and pulled back, hard. In one swing he had started choking Madara, much to the Uchiha's disbelief. They were both back to back, Tobirama grunting with pain as he pulled on the tie down, while Madara kept grasping for air as his legs kicked in certain direction trying to hurt the man's body. As Madara's breathing became shallower, but faster his body started to grow numb, his legs weak. From the corner of his eye, Madara knew that he only had once chance and had to do it now. Leaning down, but effectively cutting his circulation of air by a good chunk, his fingertips placed with the glass on the floor before he managed to embed it into the Senju's neck.

One gulp of air later for Madara, and scared gasp from Tobirama, the tables had turned. Throwing away one of his favorite ties, the Uchiha glanced behind and stared unapologetically at the mess that was Tobirama Senju. Wheezing for air and gasping for life, he somehow managed to not fall and gather enough strength to make it into the nearby pantry and lock the door, while holding it close with his long legs. Madara didn't care. He was sure that the fool would die sooner or later, he just hoped it would be by an Uchiha's hand. Licking his lips for a split second, he pulled out the serrated fillet knife, making sure to know which one would hurt him the most. Doing a quick turn, he ran towards the door once and it buckled, but it held its place. Another time and it stayed open for a split second before Tobirama kicked it closed and held it in place with his feet.

Tobirama's fourth mistake was thinking no one would come. Taking out his phone, he put Tsunade's number on speed dial, but the only sound that came on was the same that was going inside of Madara's home and tears swelled up in his eyes.

"T-Tsunade... n-no..." was all he could manage to whisper under his breath as he started to feel cold, but hot at the same time. Sweat started to emit from every pour of his body as he started to slightly shake uncontrollably.

Right as the fight was happening, outside Tsunade had finished parking her car and ran towards the house quickly, not wanting to get more wet that what she already had been. Grumbling something under her breath, she took a small mental note about how Madara had left his door open, unsure as to why it was, considering he usually kept it closed and had given everyone a key to come in just in case something had happened. Hearing a rough grunt, her body without hesitation traveled through the house, a small gun in her hand that she had acquired from inside her large bag, now discarded by the front door. Her cellphone vibrated for an instant before she picked it up and then listened to the struggling and sharp breaths on the other side.

Never in her whole life would Tsunade have thought she'd ever be in such a situation. With more force than the next, she saw Madara ram his shoulder and part of his upper body against the door. By the fourth time she came to her senses and locked the gun on him, her phone still on and discarded into her bag.

"Madara!"

The Uchiha stopped for a moment, the blood on him mostly of deadly wounds he had given Tobirama. His hair was now standing up in different parts and was completely down, reaching pass his back and stopping at the waist.

"Madara... wh-where's Tobirama?"

The two shared a long look for a moment before Madara fully faced her, his eyes were not daring to reveal anything. "In the pantry..." The words rolled out of Madara's lips like venom, not wanting to have to do anything with the white haired man.

"I was hoping you and I wouldn't have to say goodbye. Nothing was seen, nor said... I would have found that rude." With one step forward towards her, knife still clenched strongly in his hand, Tsunade commanded his attention with her booming voice.

"STOP!"

He took a small step back.

"I was so-so blind." Tsunade's words caressed his ear barely above a whisper.

"In your defense, I worked very hard to blind you," he paused for a moment, "you can stay blind. Walk away, I will make no more plans to use you, but if you stay... I will kill you."

The tension rose higher as Tsunade tightened her jaw. She was scared, not only for her but for Tobirama as well. Tsunade was not a weak woman, not by far but she wasn't an officer or a detective like the rest of her cousins. Sure she was strong, but Madara was stronger, more clever, and agile. She knew what she wanted to do, but knew she couldn't.

"Stay blind, Tsunade."

Her eyes watered out of her control. She had already lost Dan and Nawaki a few years ago in a horrid car accident where they were on their way to meet up with her, she couldn't lose Tobirama as well. Without any more hesitation, she pulled the trigger waiting to hear something, anything, but nothing came. Madara's face twisted to one of regret and dissatisfaction. Tsunade, on the other hand, wished she could understand why there were no bullets coming out. "I took the bullets out..." His words made her mind spin out of control. So all those times they had stayed over at this house, Madara had taken it upon him to search through her things and made sure, just in case, she couldn't do anything against him. Without a second to spare, and knowing the layout of the house she ran up the stair and into the first unlocked room she could find.

Madara, having given her a long moment to run, put the knife down and tried to wipe his hands somewhat on the back of his soiled white dress shirt. Inside the room, Tsunade's bottom lip trembled as she was amazed she found some extra bullets inside her bag. Quickly putting all the bullets in, she pointed the gun at the door again, waiting for him to enter, and after what seemed like a day a forever, he never came. In reality, it had only been a few moment, but her paranoia and anxiety was getting the worse of her. To her peripheral, she saw a shadow looming and quickly turned, gun aimed at the smaller body, back to the wall and window. Instantly she dropped her gun, her eyes watered and her bottom lip trembled.

"N-Nawaki... but... how?"

The younger boy, now in his late teens tilted his head and took another step forward, more than enough sadness swirling in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, onee-chan. I'm so sorry."

Before she could say anything else, the younger boy took two steps too fast for her to see and shoved her hard enough to fall out the window with a gasp. As she fell her eyes saw through the glass falling an arrangement of gray tones and hues mixed in with the water droplets. For a moment, she admires how beautiful they were before pain engulfed her whole body and the cool ground almost knocked her unconscious. Each droplet that fell on her exposed skin stung, but at the same time cooled her from her mess of a head.

'How could you have been alive this whole time? Was it not your body we buried that day?' Her tears mixed in with the rain as she coughed up blood, it slowly pooled in her mouth until it overflowed from the side. She wasn't sure what was more in shock, her body, mind, or heart. Nawaki had been alive this whole time, and not only that but also under Madara's roof and the man had not mentioned anything else to them knowing how much the Senju's suffered over that loss. The next moment she opened her eyes Hashirama was stand over her, saying words of encouragement and love, but at the same time, she couldn't hear anything. Everything was a mess.

Hashirama had parked his car and right when he got out he saw fall from the second story and adrenaline rushed through his body as he went over to his cousin's side. Shaking more than uncontrollably, he took off his larger jacket and placed it over her, instantly calling the ERT as well as stating that an officer had been down. There couldn't have been any reason for Tsunade to not have been in this condition unless it was an incident that occurred inside Madara's house.

"To-To-Tobirama is inside... G-go."

Kissing the top of her forehead, Hashirama put two and two together and knew what he had to do. His hair usually down was tied in a low and loose ponytail where it stuck to his skin, his eyes sharp as he took out his gun behind his back pocket preparing for the worse. Meanwhile, Tobirama was still inside the pantry, but now his own necktie was wrapped around his neck trying to apply pressure to the wound, being more than thankful it had stopped somewhat. Hashirama gulped as he followed the trail of blood into the kitchen, his eyes scanning the pool of blood that flowed from the crack of the door. Hearing a barely audible whisper behind him, he swerved around and saw the last person he expected to see.

"Nawa-Nawaki?"

Chocolate hues stared intently into the now hazel, but red from crying eyes of his supposedly diseased younger cousin. The boy let out a small whimper and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, body shaking from sadness and despair. By then Hashirama had lowered his gun, still no believing what he was seeing before his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I didn't know what else to do. I just did wh-what he told me."

"Where is he, Nawaki?" The younger boy stayed silent and looked past his older cousin. Madara was behind him with a strange look on his face.

Hashirama couldn't believe what he was seeing now either, Madara in the flesh. Even though he was sure that right before Tobirama killed Shisui, Shisui had told Madara to run because Tobirama would be after him. The only reason why Hashirama even had heard of anything concerning that matter was because the Uchiha had yelled it to the world. And now, seeing Madara in front of, brought a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to kill Madara for hurting his brother and cousin, but he also wanted to take him away from all of this thank him for saving his younger cousin. There were too many emotions the head of the Senju clan could take.

"I thought Shisui told you to leave, Madara..."

Crimson hues bore into chocolate ones. Madara outstretched his left hand and gently caressed the other man's cheek tenderly, a look of worry and disappointment in his eyes. Under it, all Hashirama could see tenderness and love, for him, and only him. Before he could react Madara had stabbed him in his lower abdomen and cut across deeply and swiftly, earning a shocking gasp from Nawaki who had witnessed the whole thing. Still in place, Madara twisted Hashirama's wrist and let him drop the gun, once that was done he switched the knife to the other hand and with his left pulled Hashirama's head onto his shoulder.

"It seems that the teacup I shattered has come together, Hashirama. There is no room for Nawaki in your life." Hashirama gasped for air but could already feel his body going slightly numb. "Do _you_ understand?" With a grunt of pain, Hashirama shook his head in disapproval.

Madara pulled the Senju slowly away from him and just watched as the floor started to become covered in blood, Hashirama seeming like a gutted fish at the moment.

"I wanted to surprise you. And you... you wanted to surprise me."

He slowly put Hashirama down, on the floor and the man somehow found the strength to crawl slightly back and place his weight against the kitchen island. Nawaki wanted to intervene and try to help his older cousin who was not coughing up blood, but the feeling in the room was too much for him to bare to just go and do something.

"I let you know me!"

Nawaki cringed at the honest and raw truth behind Madara's words. His feeling becoming more and more exposed in his tired features and watery eyes.

"I let you see me... I gave you a rare gift, but you didn't want it."

Hashirama tried to mumble something through the hiccups he did and blabbering of incoherent words, but nothing came out. Madara could only frown.

"You would deny me my life?"

"No... n-no. Not your l-life..."

Madara didn't skip a heartbeat, "my freedom then? You'd take that from me? Confine me to a prison cell..." Madara licked his lips, his eyes more hurt than before once Hashirama stared up at him, eyes filled with regret and resentment as well.

"Did you think you could change me, Hashirama, like I've changed you?"

Hashirama didn't hesitate either, with a lopsided smile he continued, "I already did."

Silence engulfed the trio for what seemed like a lifetime, but no more than 30 seconds. "It seems like fate and circumstance have brought us back to this very moment where both tea cups shatter." His eyes drifted for a split second to Nawaki, who shivered at the strong gaze, and then back to Hashirama.

"I forgive you, Hashirama. Will you forgive me?"

Instantly the older Senju knew what would happen, but he was too tired and weak to act. Once Madara outstretched his hand, Nawaki, as if under a spell, walked over towards the man who looked for a second twice his age. Without a hint of hesitation or remorse, he pressed the blade against Nawaki's neck and cut horizontally across, dropping the body to the floor without a care. Hashirama's whimpers and begging fell on silent ears as Madara only took a step forward and met Hashirama's crying face. Madara wanted to feel bad for what he had done to the Senju family, but the only thing that he kept feeling was rejection and sadness. Something only Hashirama had managed to cause him.

"You can make all of this go away, Hashirama. Close your eyes, look away."

The man shook his head, body straining to crawl towards the poor boy who didn't know what he had gotten himself into when that so-called angel saved him. The most Hashirama ever got was outstretching the hand over the wound, trying to apply some sort of pressure to it before Nawaki and he passed out cold.

Madara, for a lack of a better word, was tired. Without a single care, he walked out of his home slowly, admiring how beautiful the glass looked covered by the water droplets that reflected the night sky. Completely drenched and cooled down, he wiped the excess water from his faces, not caring it was going to accumulate in a moment. He looked almost younger, tired and depressed, but also refreshed as if a thousand years had been lifted off of his shoulders. A moan of pain captured his attention as he noticed Tsunade not too far. Taking his time, he studied the woman and noticed what she had on, his eyes narrowed and flung that coat off of her.

Putting it on, he walked away from the home and onto the streets where he made a sharp turn and bumped into Iruka. The two men hadn't met, so like his usual Iruka apologized, to which Madara ignored and went his way. Shrugging, not knowing every day he passed by Madara's house to reach his own, a cough caught his attention and stopped dead in his tracks. The door to the house was wide open and there was someone on the floor. That was moment Iruka Umino became close to the Senju family.

**[End of flashback]**

Nawaki sadly didn't even make it to the hospital, the doctors saying that even if the cut wasn't that deep, the boy had a poor nervous system and his white blood cells where attacking everything. In all honestly, that had given him another year or two left to live. Tsunade had both hips broken, a hairline fracture in her right knee, and had to get therapy to move her left arm. Apparently it was because the elbow and her hips had absorbed most of the impact, thankfully her spine was in one piece allowing her to walk again. Meanwhile, Hashirama was in intensive care for four months, not knowing whether he was going to make it or not. After he was out of harms way, he stayed in a coma and hasn't opened his eyes since then.

Tobirama, even though being the first to get stabbed, recovered the fastest and swore on complete revenge. They took everything to court, but they still didn't win and Madara only smirked from his pedestal. There was not a single piece of evidence towards the man saying he had done anything, not only that, but all the evidence from both parties had been destroyed or lost. Tobirama only knew one thing, all those Uchiha's working for the police department had to go, and he could bet his life that they had something to do with it considering who they were fighting against. Another thing that set off alarms in his mind was that the even never made news. And the few people that knew about were sworn to secrecy, like Iruka.

Pouring themselves another cup of tea, Iruka took in the scent and mentally sighed knowing how hard the Senju family must of have had it.

"-come with me?"

Iruka blinked and laughed nervously, scratching the scar that ran over his nose. "Haha, sorry about that, Tobirama, what was it that you were telling me?"

"I asked if you want to come and visit Hashirama with me today?"

Iruka turned around and glanced at the clock on the wall, his nose wiggling slightly. "Sorry about that, I'd love to go any other time, but can't. I'm having lunch with an old friend today, and the company is at the other side of town, and then I'm having dinner with an old student. It's been a while since I've caught up with either of them."

The white haired man gave him a curt nod of understanding, glad to see Iruka had people in his life that loved him and he loved them back.

* * *

(1)Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

(2) a Sous- chef is the second chef in command of the kitchen.

So what do you guys think? I think it went alright. I'm a huge Hashirama and Madara fan, so writing anything about them was quite fun and interesting for me. I hope you guys felt something while reading the flashback. I usually underline the flashbacks, but because this one was so long, I thought it would be a bit of an eye sore and decided not to add it.

Aside from that, I can't wait to hear what you guys have in mind about what just happened! Stay tuned, I'm updating as fast as I can until classes start again.

With much love,  
The Count, Kennedy.


	16. Chapter 15: Hinata's Stand and the Senju

Hello, everyone! How is everyone doing? Hopefully good, and I'm alright. Just tired like usual but because it's spring break I can finally have the time update again. Before I continue I just want to thank you, everyone, who keeps up with this fanfiction and the slow pace and updating of it. You are all angels and are amazing. Thank you for being so patient. Thank you to everyone who leaves a review, and an even greater thank you to those that leave a review every time I update.

I honestly wouldn't have been able to do it without you, thank you all, once again.

As for the story, these past months made me almost want to change a few things, but because the foundation of the story has been set in practically stone, I need to go along with it. But oh you poor lovely readers, have I come up with even more cruel things. *grins mischievously.* Besides that, I still feel bad for having taken so long to update I'll give you a hint of what's to come in the next chapter in the AN at the end of this one. Also this chapter is shorter than most of the other ones, but I'll try to keep up with the length as well. Ignore any grammatical mistakes and spelling that there could be, I just wanted to put this out here for you guys to read as soon as possible.

Besides that, sit back, relax and enjoy the read.

The Count,  
Kennedy

* * *

**Chapter 15: Hinata's Stand and the Senjus' Fall Part 2**

Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru were in the room together, each one more angered the other.

"Now that we have decided, call Kankuro over. Once I deal with him myself, I'll call for another conference, so the world will now what scum Kankuro is."

Shikamaru smirked and shook his head, "I understand completely fine why you want to do it, Sasuke, but it's not worth it. If you want to kick him out, do it and do it in a soft manner. Not to mention that having any more trouble with both families wouldn't be necessary."

Hinata silently agreed with a Naruto that kept giving her side glances every once in a while. Without a single moment, to spare, Kankuro walked in and Naruto Shikamaru and Hinata strolled out. Not one of the three giving him another glance. Kankuro closed the door behind him and could easily tell that the Uchiha was after his head. Sasuke stood their quietly, half sitting on his desk, half leaning on it for small support. He was going to show Kankuro exactly who he was dealing with.

Once Kankuro was seated, Sasuke began while heeding Shikamaru's words, "there are two waves to get out of a company, Kankuro. The first is to resign, which in your situation seems quite honorable. The second one is a Notice of Termination that could greatly impact your future in getting another job."

Kankuro's eyebrow twitched slightly, he was worried, but he knew what was going to happened. Gaara had another job for him, his brother may not like him as much as he would have liked, but that still didn't stop him from giving out a helping hand.

"Which on do you prefer, Kankuro?'

"I'll resign myself, Uchiha-sama." His voice strained at the ending suffix just a little, but not little enough as for Sasuke still heard it.

"Alright, so now, tell me why would you sabotage Hinata's computer and who are you working with?"

Kankuro snapped his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "personal reasons."

Sasuke stood up straight, "why did you do it."

At that Kankuro frowned, realizing it would be better for him to spill his old almost believable feelings than to tell him the absolute truth. "You gave her all my responsibilities. To that nobody who appeared out of nowhere. Not only that but you reduced to being a simple check signer, I want to remind you that I too did a career in finance and I have a career in this company as well. That's why I prepared for the meeting to be a disaster... for her. It's not against you, Uchiha-sama."

The young Uchiha wasn't buying it, there was something off about all of this. He could tell the man was saying the truth, but where exactly did it end and where did it start. "Then what were planning on doing with her files Don't tell me you were just going to sabotage the computer and that's it." He practically hissed under his breath.

"I just wanted to make sure she was doing everything right. I didn't trust her work."

Sasuke rose an amused eyebrow, "... and that's it? So yu didn't order anyone and didn't receive orders from anyone either? So you weren't interested in going inside that computer later and getting anything in the archives and giving it to... Sabaku no Gaara, correct?"

Kankuro frowned, "why would I? He's my brother. He was nothing to do with this."

"So you're going to tell me that Gaara had nothing to do with this. Now convenient. So if it wasn't him, who sabotaged Hinata's computer." The older man looked away cautiously, unsure of how to go with this, he couldn't rat her out. At least not yet.

"I can't tell you that."

Sasuke lips almost turned up in the faintest ghost of a smile. "Haven't you realized I'm not buying anything that you're saying? I want names Kankuro, and you will give them to me."

Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru were waiting patiently outside and as much as they tried to not over hear the conversation, it was practically impossible. Their voices were escalating higher and higher, even if it was at a slow race. Hinata only looked down in a guilty manner. Naruto seeing her quick change of expression placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

"It's okay, Hina-chan. You did as much as you could. The council liked you and Sasuke's good to go and I think that's all that matters at this point."

Shikamaru stared at the girl smile slightly to himself and something clicked in the deep far darkness of his mind. He would need to keep that thought to himself, it wasn't safe.

"I want the names, Kankuro, if you don't give me the names I will fire you like the delinquent that you are. Not only will I make sure you never find a job here in Tokyo, but you'll never find a job here in Japan, Kankuro."

The man shifted in his seat uncomfortable, unable to say or do much. "I can't."

Sasuke casually walked past him and opened the door, making sure to only hit Naruto, "get out." And without another word, Kankuro left to his office, probably to pick up the little he had of his belongings.

The trio walked closely behind Sasuke as they moved to the conference room for their final discussion. Ino had already notified the rest of the group and everything was on its way. Finally seated, Sasuke at the head, and Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata in their respective seats, they waited for everyone to come in.

"I assumed everything went well, Sasuke," Shikamaru asked hastily before anyone could come in. "As good as it could have. that rat is out of here, even if he didn't want to give any names, I'm pretty sure who the culprits are."

Once everyone finished coming in, Sai began, "hurry up Sasuke. Time is money, and we can't afford to be wasting any of it."

"Yeah yeah, we know Sai. Just let it go," Naruto muttered under his breath, Even he was getting tired of this.

"Alright, I'm starting this small conference to address a small problem which we had earlier today. As you saw, we started with the fashion show first before we got to the actual conference, simply because of that problem."

Kakashi as usual feigned innocence, "what was the problem, Sasuke?"

"The problem, Kakashi, was that the computer on which all the files were located, was damaged and it couldn't be retrieved. If it wasn't because of Hinata's fast thinking and having a spare copy this meeting would have been a disaster. Which is why I gathered you all at the moment to speak of this sabotage."

Mikoto's and Fugaku's eyes widened in surprise, each looking around to see different people's surprised expressions. Even Temari was slightly taken back at the comment, whoever it was, she thought they must have truly been desperate.

"And who would do such a thing, Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, still trying to figure out who it could be. The first person who came to her mind had passed away a few years ago, and the other was doing just fine in his new company.

"Someone from this very honorable room."

Gaara frowned, realizing his words was not only intended for him, but for both his siblings as well. Not seeing Kankuro around he could tell the man was a goner, but no matter to him, Gaara would find a way to change it.

"Oh Sasuke please, this sounds like a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie and it's giving me the creeps in a bad way. Give us the name."

Everyone silently agreed at Sai's words and Sasuke continued, "you're not that wrong, Sai. The person not only wanted to damage Hinata's name but also damage mine as well. That person wanted to withdraw the personal notes and figures of this company." Sakura's eyes slowly trailed over to see Gaara's pacify face twist with a small hint of anger to the secretary.

"Sasuke, what you're saying is very grave," Fugaku noted slightly annoyed.

"Well then father, go ask our vice president of finance Sabaku no Kankuro." Everyone fell silent then a chatter erupted out of nowhere, Sakura's eyes analyzing Hinata's calm face as well as switching to look at Sasuke and Naruto's and Shikamaru's. Something was off about all of this, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Sasuke quickly went over everything Kankuro had mentioned and why had done it, while easily being able to answer any question anyone in that room sent him.

Gaara took in a deep breath. "That is disgusting. Don't discard the possibility of suing him as well."

Sasuke and Shikamaru shared a small look, "we haven't Sabaku-san." Shikamaru softly pipped in.

"There's no use crying over spilled milk and laying around lamenting over what can happen. I think it's time to name a new Vice President of Finance, I can be in charge of that."

"That won't be necessary," Shikamaru continued but handed the baton over to Sasuke, "as long as I'm president of this company there won't be another one of your pawns in here."

'Fair enough, Uchiha, not like you'll be here for that long anyways.'

"Why not just say I'm behind the whole thing, Sasuke-"

"Gaara, please, enough. No one has suggested such a thing."

"No mom," Sasuke quickly cut in, knowing his mother had a soft spot for the adopted boy, "I'm not suggesting anything, I'm saying it straight to his face. Not only was Kankuro his pawn, but everyone in the company knew it." Some people shifted in their seats silently.

Temari just mentally sighed, not realizing when her brothers had done something so grave. At the end of the day, she was going to take their side, but she knew they were the cause of it."

"Then doesn't that make me an accomplice too?" Everyone turned to look at the blonde haired woman, "I brought both of them into this company, did I not?"

Sasuke visually shifted his attention to her for a moment, almost amused that she actually stood up to those pieces of shit she called her family. Almost warmed his heart, almost.

"No. Not you Temari," his voice softened for a split second, something Shikamaru was most thankful for, it's not like he was having an affair with the woman or anything.

"If that's the case Sasuke, then what's in that little computer of yours that's got you so on edge." This time, Shikamaru and Naruto stood up, ready to retaliate in Sasuke's behave, but the Uchiha managed to get everything in control himself.

"The same thing you have on your phone, or Sakura in her iPad or Shikamaru in his laptop. Information that we don't need anyone to have. Information that is personal because we all have our right to or own privacy if that person is Hinata Nagumo."

"Then go amuse men, Sasuke, who is going to be the new vice president?"

"Hinata of course."

Everyone in the room, including the trio, looked at Sasuke as if he had grown another head. "Wh-what?" Hinata barely managed her to mumble under her breath, surprised at his certain course of action.

"You're not suggesting this, are you Sasuke?" Sakura stated quickly.

"I am. Why not? Sakura enough, she has the capacity to do, she worked under Tsunade for Kami's sake. Even Fugaku here gave her the interview himself and Gaara got everything handed back to him when he tried to school her. Or am I wrong." Both men didn't say anything, their silence, was more than enough for Sasuke.

Mikoto on the other hand just stared at Hinata curiously, almost upset the glare from the glasses couldn't allow for her to fully see the girls face. She must really be quite something if Sasuke trusted her that much, and the two idiots in the vice presidency aren't saying anything about it either. "No one is denying that you're right Sasuke, we just think you're taking this a little too fast is all. "

"No, I am not, mom. I'm just saying she's going to be doing the Vice President's job like she's practical been doing already. She just won't have the title until I can find someone truly suitable for the post to relinquish her of that extra job."

The original trio knew that wouldn't be the case, but who was going to argue with Sasuke in such a heated moment like this and with his family right next to him.

"I don't agree with this Sasuke..." Gaara growled under his breath, "you may be okay with trusting her and putting all of your eggs in one basket but I'm not. It's too dangerous for only to people to have so much power over the company."

"Dangerous? Dangerous are the people you hire, Gaara. Let us analyze this for the moment-"

"Do as you wish. I can already see my opinion here would be of no matter." Giving Hinata one quick glance and a glare to Sasuke he left the room. Fugaku sat up straight and sighed. "I agree with your request Sasuke and it seems very reasonable to me. Then we will see you in the fall for the next meeting and your and Sakura's wedding."

Hinata inwardly flinched at the older man's words, almost forgetting such things.

Half an hour later the small group entered Sasuke's office with smile on their faces "We did it! We actually did it. You did amazing in the beginning Hinata, and Sasuke took the gold after." Naruto leaned over and hugged Hinata tightly, his cheeks a light shade of pink. While that was happening Shikamaru and Sasuke shook hands, each impressed with the other's plans and actions.

"I'm glad we did this, but I'm sure that Gaara isn't convinced but that's his problem now." Shikamaru noted and ran his fingers through his now loose hair that he was going to tie back up in his usual pony tail.

"Naruto comes with me, there's something that we need to do before we continue working today." The blond finally lets go of the blushing woman and quickly apologized to her, running hurridly after the brunette.

"Hinata..." She snapped out of her trance and blinked in surprise when she saw him so close up, oh how he resembled Itachi so much at that moment that it almost broke her heart. Had she truly not learned her lesson. Had she truly not seen it-!

"S-Sasuke-san..."

Her voice was barely above a whisper, his arms were wrapped around he hugged her, gently at first and once she unconsciously hugged back, the hug deepened. He stayed there for what seemed a moment too long, but she didn't mind, it had been a while since someone that she adored this much came and gave her such a wonderful gift.

"Thank you, Hinata. And Sasuke is fine."

He still didn't budge, too comfortable in the embrace, and too filled with euphoria to do anything else. He had won, and that's all Sasuke cared about. And what made it best was because of Hinata.

"For what?"

He opened his eyes and slowly let go of her, realizing how long they had been like that. Casually he sat back down and gave her pink face one last look.

"For being you. Now let's finish working on the rest of the paper work." Hinata nodded slowly and disappeared into her office. Sasuke on the other hand paid no attention to the slightly opened door where Naruto had witnessed their calm exchange.

Naruto, on the other hand, felt a small hint of jealousy fill through him, something that hadn't been there long before.

* * *

Iruka rubbed his sore shoulder and sighed more to himself out of tiredness than anything. Teuchi turned over to the younger man and gave him a kind and welcoming smile, "hello there, Iruka, it's been a while. How have you been?"

Iruka just smiled in return, "I've been well, thank you for asking Teuchi. How have you been, oh, and I'll have the usual once Naruto passes by." Without another word, the man started cooking to feed a small army. Ever since Iruka introduced Naruto to Ramen, well, it had been all downhill from there and it became their usual place to discuss whatever their topic was. Thankfully, this time, it was nothing more than a casual conversation as the young man just missed the older one.

"I've been good- oh Naruto! Hey there. Just on time, I'll have your ramen ready in no time."

The blond had arrived in the nick of time, loosening his tie and a dumb plastered grin on his features.

"Thank you old man, hey Iruka-sensei. How are you doing?" As he took a seat, Iruka just admired his younger student's energy, almost jealous of his youth. "I'm doing well, Naruto. I'm doing well. And yourself, kit? How's the company?" With their first bowl served, they started to chow down.

With a mouthful of ramen, he turned to his old tutor, slurping up the last of the ramen in his bowl even though they had just started moments ago. Naruto just sent Iruka another grin, "haha, pretty good. So far, as long as Sasuke-teme doesn't mess up anything we should be fine. Not that it matter because we have Hinata on our side!"

'_Oh, is that so_?'

Iruka raised an eyebrow and smirked, not missing the look of loving and child-like admiration Naruto had on his face when he mentioned the females name. "Aha, I see. And who's this Hinata?" Iruka tried to ask as casually as possibly, even Teuchi leaned a little closer to them to get a better idea of the girl that made Naruto praise her in such a way.

Cerulean hues captured all the light in the room, becoming as vivid and clear as the sky on a summer day.

"She's amazing, Iruka-sensei. At first, I thought she was weird and awkward seeing as she spoke in a really low voice and mumbled everything..." he scrunched up his face, trying to remember the first few times he encountered her. "And she has a horrible sense of fashion, almost like she's wearing a costume or disguise so no one can see her." Tilting his head to the side, he considered his own words for a moment. He had a never really thought about it, but maybe it was because she couldn't afford it? Then again she had really nice skin, so maybe she spent all her money on lotion and face cream.

Iruka for a moment thought they were talking about two different people, but seeing Naruto's face roll through every motion ranging from disgust to confusion, and finally settling on happiness something became very clear. Naruto had been wrong and was probably waiting to save the best for last.

"Naruto, you were saying?"

He snapped out of his daze and continued with a small shake of his head, "oh yea, my bad. Like I said, despite that, Hinata's amazing. Like her resume was amazing in on itself. She got her BA in Business Economics and then did a side course in accounting. To top it off she did her Masters in Finance and actually managed to work under Tsunade for a whole year. She even knows three languages fluently!" Naruto quickly slurped the last of his bowl and went on to the next one. "Not only that but she's kind and patient. I mean, you kinda have to if you're teme's secretary. But I think the best thing about her, definitely, is her smile." Which at the end of it, Naruto couldn't help but smile, a tiny blush adorning his features.

'_She can handle Naruto and Sasuke? She's definitely a keeper. Hm, Tsunade... I wonder how she's doing..._'

Teuchi cast Iruka small glance with a nod, Iruka did the same and gave Naruto another grin. "Oh, what is this. You remembered her resume and love her smile. If anything, I'd say you have a crush on her, Naruto."

Naruto almost choked on his food, coughing dramatically into a closed fist, eyes wide open and cheeks a darker shade of red. "Wh-what?! No, I don't! I mean, like, she... It's not like that Iruka-sensei!"

The other man just smiled to himself and kept eating. "Oh, really?"

"Y-yeah!" Naruto gave a small nervous laugh, "I mean, can't you compliment someone without saying something like you like them?" Iruka tilted his head to the side in thought, "I suppose."

"See! And besides, Sasuke is always defending her from others, so I think that him always repeating her resume was eventually going to be engraved in my head. Hah... ah." The two shared a knowing look and Iruka let him off the hook. "If you say so, Naruto."

Quickly, he decided to change the topic, "so, Iruka-sensei, how's your job?"

"Fine, just worried about Tobiram-" he didn't get the chance to stop his honest statement and sighed. If it had been anyone else, Iruka would have kicked himself in the butt, but knew better. This was Naruto who he was with, and Naruto wouldn't tell a soul if anything Naruto was like his little psychologist and therapist in a way. When he needed help, Naruto was there to listen.

"Tobirama..."

Naruto watched his teacher's face twist to one of sadness, and even he couldn't help wondering what happened now. The Senju's had appeared in Iruka's life like Hinata had appeared in his, without a caution and swiftly. He had heard of Tobirama more than enough throughout the years to know Iruka was having emotional troubles.

"Yeah yeah, Tobirama this, Tobirama that. Lately, he's been the cause of all your problems. What exactly happened with the Senju's anyways? I remember you had mentioned something a few years back, but that was then."

Iruka gave him a curious glance and saw Naruto had finally had his fill. "Hm, that depends on, what do you know?"

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning in and pretending to think really hard. "Well, from the small rumors out there, the Senju's had it coming. Someone murdered someone and Madara bought off the news crew, jury, judge, and managed to destroy every piece of evidence for both parties. I tried asking Sasuke about it once, but he said that Fugaku and he don't talk. To be honest, I don't think there's a single Uchiha that talks to that man."

Iruka tilted his head and gave him a weary smile, "Naruto, how about we go for a quick ride. I have to pass by the bank anyways." Seeing the blond just give him a strange look, Iruka shook his head and smiled, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. "Let's just go, Naruto. Later Teuchi."

"Who-whoa, okay, I'm going. Careful Iruka I just tripped on air! Bye old man Teuchi!" The cook only shook his head and smiled at them. Once inside the car, without a care in the world, Iruka drove around aimlessly.

"Hey Iruka-sensei, do you think Madara would have counter-sued if there really would have been a trail?"

'Oh_, naive Naruto. The trail was a trail in on itself._'

He shook his head. "I don't see why he would need to?"

"What do you mean?"

Iruka rolled his right shoulder and turned right, going into the highway. "I don't know how much you know, Naruto, but you do know your parents generation all went to school together, correct?"

Naruto was more than confused, "Huh?"

"Fugaku and Mikoto, Minato and Kushina, Hiashi and Hizashi with their respected wife, Hashirama and Mito, Dan and Tsunade, and a few others with Madara and Tobirama all went to middle school, high school, and college together. They were quite the tight-knit group of friends until that incident happened. You know their back stories correct?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably hearing Iruka's words and gave a nervous laugh, "y-yeah, something like that."

Iruka didn't feel the need to scold the boy, so he just continued on. "Let's start with the Uchihas. You know their good backstory, the same one we all know. But what people don't know is that they were Yakuza at a point. Not saying there's anything wrong with that, but they were the illegal kind. Drug trafficking, prostitution, you name it and those people had a finger in every pie. I wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke didn't know anything about it. One of the Senju's, I'm talking long before our great grandparent's were born, made a deal with them that no one, to this day, knows exactly what it was about but the conclusion. The Senju's, I hate to put it this way, in turn, for information they provided the Uchihas with high paid jobs within the different police and military oriented jobs. Which is why almost every single Uchiha has worked in the arm forces at least once or is part of the military or police department. Also, as you know, Fugaku and Mikoto got married and carried the company up with the Sabaku's. They, with their children and Madara, were technically the only ones who aren't associated with any of those departments."

Naruto's eyes widened, somewhat surprised but at the same time not. He always knew most Uchihas were prideful, look at Sasuke for the main example, but to be a snitch, that didn't sound right. Without questioning it, Naruto just listened on, becoming more patient than he was in his younger years.

"That's quite ironic, Iruka-sensei."

The man shrugged, giving a small laugh. "I suppose. I don't think I have to say anything about Minato and Kushina, considering they're your parents. I wish I could say more about Hiashi and Hizashi too besides the fact that they were twins, but that's something you'd have to talk to Kakashi about. No one's heard from them since the day Neji left, and well he's supposed to be back now."

"Yeah you're right. No one knows them better tha- wha, wait, huh? Our Kakashi, like Kakashi Hatake, Kakashi?"

Iruka gave another laugh, "yes Naruto. That exact Kakashi. Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, used to work as their full-time bodyguard before Hizashi was killed in the car crash along with him." Now that surprised Naruto, never having heard of such a thing from that man that he had been working alongside for six years, "he's never mentioned it, when did this happen?"

"I would have to say around 20 years ago, give or take a few years. I remember Kakashi was really young when he told me the story. If there's anything you have questions regarding them, Kakashi should know." Naruto didn't know why, but for a split moment, he became quite enticed with the family that seemed like high elves and purebloods. Iruka did another sharp turn and looked in the rearview mirror, making sure he wasn't being followed.

"As for the Senju's, in Tsunade's part, is a bit of a more simple story. Tsunade had a knack for medicine and she was supposed to take over her father's job of being head doctor decades ago, but due to her gambling problems in college, she decided to study finance. Eventually, she took over to the head bank. During her early high school years, Tsunade had started recently dating Dan, who at the time wanted to become the new prime minister, and that didn't turn out well. During an early release, Tsunade asked Dan to pick up her little brother Nawaki from school and well, it was a head-on collision with three other cars besides the main two affected. It was bad, Naruto, they had the whole street closed down. Dan's seatbelt malfunctioned and ejected him straight into the air, died instantly on impact with the ground while, Nawaki supposedly made it to the hospital, but also passed away moments later. That's when Tsunade's alcohol problem started and she kicked herself around for not being a doctor and not having had the ability to help Dan."

Another pause followed before Iruka continued not giving Naruto the chance to get angry, "I think it's better she hadn't been a doctor. Can you imagine receiving your boyfriend and little brother in the emergency room, knowing there was nothing else you could have done for them? I think that would have hurt her more than anything."

Naruto couldn't say anything but stay silent, "but... I'm so confused Iruka-sensei. I'm confused, what does this have to do with Madara. And what do you mean Nawaki was supposedly dead?"

"Just keep listening Naruto. You're smart, you'll figure it out. Listen, and listen well because this is where it gets confusing."

Naruo tilted a bit, making full eye contact with Iruka before the kind man took a sharp right and got off the highway.

"Tobirama and Hashirama, who were Nawaki and Tsunade's older cousins, decided to go into the workforce and become detectives, being the peacemakers that they thought they were. It leaves this sense of tragedy and sadness when you think about it like that. After working there for a year or two, They got an anonymous tip one day that Madara Uchiha was conducting work with a yakuza member through a third party about illegal goods. They didn't want to believe it, at first, seeing as their best friend was being accused of something, but the higher ups ordered them to check it out with the second in command, Shisui. Which I'm not sure if you know, but Madara considered him like a younger brother. It wasn't until four months after when they received an anonymous tape recording of Shisui talking to someone on the phone about a drug deal with a man that suspicions started to rise. And quickly, so much so that Madara's initial investigation was almost discarded to the side."

Naruto had been so engrossed in the story that he didn't realize they were back in front of the S&amp;U Fashion with the car parked.

"With some further investigation, a tip lead to other leads which ended with Shisui being the one to conduct a series of incidents that not only had killed Hizashi in the car crash but also Nawaki and Dan. They were even trying to say that Shisui was responsible for the death of the Sabaku heads, but because it was a plane crash with other civilians they found it hard to acquire the evidence."

"Wait, I'm still confused, Iruka-sensei. This Shisui guy, if he was the one that did everything, why didn't they capture him sooner?"

"He worked for the police department, Naruto. Police don't rat out on their own people. Not to mention they never acquired true physical proof, seeing as Shisui had an alibi for everything, and not once in any of the tape recording did he say something that would tip anyone off. It just seemed that way because all the tips and clues the Senju brothers received was by word of mouth or anonymous tips. You can't have a court hearing by word of mouth, a simple he said she said isn't going to fly with any jury nor judge. The case would never see trial... you could testify, but would your life really be worth it?" He couldn't tell Naruto the whole truth.

"Oh, whoa. He must have been really smart to get away with all of that. Did they found out how he did it."

Iruka gave Naruto a sympathetic look and nodded, "already picking sides? Haha, no worries. He was just the puppet, Naruto to a vast and more complex web of lies that the Senju brothers figured out. Tobirama got too close to the truth for his own good. Hashirama just didn't want to associate with the Uchiha's anymore, and Tobirama wanted to exact revenge for Nawaki and Dan, seeing as Shisui couldn't get away with this. Knowing Shisui would never go to jail, he took it upon himself to kill the man and during that fight is when Shisui managed to crawl away and call Madara. Telling him to run, or do something because the brothers were going to be after hi-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there Iruka-sensei. You're telling me, the billionaire now millionaire Madara Uchiha is behind everything! He's Sasuke's uncle for Kami's sake. That man has never done anything and has stayed behind the limelight. I don't keep track of him, but that seems crazy! Besides what I said earlier were rumors that I heard a few years back, and even then it was a pretty top secret I guess."

Chocolate eyes met confused azure ones that were filled with a mixture of worry and concern. "That doesn't explain about the Nawaki thing. You said Nawaki was dead, he wasn't, was he?"

Iruka shook his head. "No Naruto, I don't think he was. There are two large rumors that don't make sense in all this that no one has been able to prove, did Hashirama really warn Madara that his brother was coming for him, and did Nawaki really stay alive." Iruka made sure to not include the fight scenes that Tobirama had illustrated with words to him anytime before. "No one knows how Nawaki managed to live if he did, but people think Madara and the third party that Shisui had been talking to were the cause of-!"

A large rattling that sounded like an explosion had happened right behind them caused the two men to jump so high in the air they hit their heads on the top of the car. Both carefully getting out looked around nervously into the distance, black swirls of smoke reached towards the night sky and could be seen by the fire that illuminated it.

"What?"

"What the hell was that, Iruka-sensei?" The males exchanged a look of bewilderment as two helicopters flew over them and the sound of sirens shook the city to the core.

"Can you tell where it's from?"

Iruka shook his head, eyes straining to look past the tall buildings in the banking districts. "I want to say it came from the slums, but that area has been under construction for a while. Maybe it was a gas pipe that exploded?"

Without another word Naruto just sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, whatever that was, I'm sure we'll hear about it tonight or tomorrow morning. Thank you for having dinner with me, Iruka-sensei, but I think it's time for me to be heading out... I hope you don't mind going to the bank alone."

Iruka just gave him a weak smile, almost blaming himself for having dumped everything on the blond like that, "yeah, you're probably right, Naruto. I mean, don't worry about what I mentioned, besides they're all rumors mixed with rumblings of Tobirama anyways. I thought you'd like to hear some gossip is all." With a grin the brunette leaned over and hugged Naruto as tightly as he could, basking in the warmth and comfort the younger man gave him. Gladly, Naruto returned the favor and inhaled deeply the man's scent that soothed his soul.

"Yeah yeah, I know Iruka-sensei. Keep my mouth shut, seat belt on, don't text and drive, and say hi to mom and dad for you." With another grin and wave, they separated as Naruto went through the back of the company to get his car. Ichiraku's Ramen wasn't far from the company so he'd rather walk and make sure it was in a good place than afford to have it scratched, damaged or stolen. Once inside, he pressed his forehead against the steering wheel and stared into nothing as he let his mind race for a moment.

"Billionaire turned millionaire... well Madara doesn't seem like the type to donate money to charity, the only way for him to loose such a title would be because of..."

'_Buying off every police officer he encountered, jury, judge, and getting rid of all the evidence.._.'

Naruto gave a nervous laugh and shook his head, he needed a drink. It wasn't like him to think of things like this, never the less when it had to do with his best friend's company. Even after all of that, he couldn't help, but feel that maybe someone in Sasuke's family knew something and wasn't talking. Turning on the car, he quickly got out and headed straight to his apartment. Arriving at his home, he plopped down on the couch and sighed, the mental fight he was having with himself was draining him to the core, making his curiosity finally win. Taking out his phone, he held down the home button.

"Uchiha Madara," he spoke into the phone and laid it on his chest for a moment as Siri searched the web.

"This is what I found on the web for Uchiha Madara. Madara is a multi-billionaire who is known for his business of buying and selling businesses as well as selling, buying, and trading diamonds and crude oil."

Naruto's face slightly twitched at the thought of someone having so much power. Oil and diamonds... the only thing that man needed to do left was to get into the medical and porn industry and he would be a completely well-rounded man.

"All that money and he's still probably bitter."

* * *

"-a giant fireball, this afternoon around dinner time. Dozens of homes were destroyed after the huge explosion that was apparently caused by a broken gas line that happened near the slums of Tokyo. Somewhat close to Narita International Airport, Ketsuno Crystel will take us there. Good evening, Ketsuno-san."

The scene cut off to a seemingly pretty woman, who usually was seen as the weather girl, was in front of a devastating scene.

"Good evening to you, Hanano-san. Right now we're in front of where the explosion happened. I want to you take a look at the scene behind me and see what has happened. The firefighters are still trying to put out the last of all the smoldering flames. We're still seeing little pockets of flames still popping up here and there. Many of the homes around me have been completely flattened, a scene not at all familiar to the poor residents of this area."

The scene switched to one of a montage of clips where airplanes were passing over burning homes, and firefighters combating the flames while the woman continued speaking.

"The small homes of the people in this neighborhood became a raging inferno around dinner time today as flames roared into the air, and blocks upon blocks, probably 10 miles before Narita airport were engulfed. Witnesses report hearing and seeing a large explosion leading to early speculation that a small plane or jet had crashed down. But in reality, it was a high-pressure natural gas line that ruptured and caused the explosion that fueled the spectacular blaze. The local utility company, Guren Gas, and Electric will be accountable if it is determined they were at fault. A bird's eye view has shown us that much of the neighborhood has been reduced to ashes and small embers, more than 50 homes were destroyed and more than 100 homes were damaged. More than 250 people were evacuated from the area. We also got information how some people are now being released for minor injuries, and eight are being treated in Tokyo's Metropolitan Matsuzawa hospital in critical condition. The only good news about all of this is, no lives have been lost so far."

"Thank you for your work, Ketsuno-san. Those are quite the images you have shown us-."

Shino turned off the television as his eyes traveled over the blood-soaked red sash that lay in front of him.

[Flashback]

"Waiting patiently doesn't suit you, Hyuga. I can finally say with accuracy that you have a great deal of wood in your personality, unlike your cousin who has water. Water can change shape and flow around things, finding the secret path no one had thought about. Wood, on the other hand, needs to be nourished by water, so it can stand its ground even further. When are you going to see, Hinata, Neji? When..."

Shino knew his words were falling on deaf ears, but that exact moment, he felt alone. A woman living in a grand house may pride herself on all her lovely things, but the moment she hears the crackle of fire she decides very quickly which are the few she values most. Ever since Neji and Shino had spoken the day before, Shino came to feel that his life was bringing down around him; and yet when he struggled to find even a single thing that would still matter to him in his home, he failed. Those insects that probably lived in him in another time were of a different matter. Kneeling down next to Neji while trying not to think too much about his own feelings of misery, Shino had a sudden thought of a child lost in the snowy woods. When he looked back down at the scar than ran across the man's back, they looked so much like red, snowcapped trees giving him the horrifying moment that he might be the sole living human in all the world.

He shook his head and made the thought disappear. Taking out a cold rag from the bin, he rinsed it and laid it over Neji's back earning a groan of approval to his ears. Sighing out loud, Shino recalled something extremely important, how delicate the Hyuga's business of kimonos was, like the wings of a moth; if crushed or burned it would never have recovered.

"This place is a mess."

To those words, Neji rose his head and gave him a small glare, too tired and hurt by their last close encounter. One of Danzo's men had found him and Shino, and without a chance to disperse, Neji had accidentally dragged the bug man into his mess more than what he need. During their little fiasco, Neji had jumped off a ledge, and due to the darkness of the night, his foot had slipped and he ended scraping his back with a bobbed wire. For a lack of a better word, the Hyuga was tired, pissed, and sleepy. After an hour or so of running, they had managed to escape them, but the danger that lurked outside was too much, and it would have been safer for Shino to stay by his side for the night.

"Hm... yes it is."

Neji was currently residing in the more, per say discreet part of the slums, a few floors up in an old apartment and there he was. Blinds closed with one bedroom and bath all to himself. With another groan, he shifted and tried his best to keep himself standing up. "I'm getting real tired of Danzo, and his men."

Shino gave a silent nod, but it was more a silent agreement with himself than anything. "I'll make tea, the usual one?"

He shook his head in disapproval, "no, I don't have any tea left. It's cheaper for me to buy coffee than the usual tea leafs I get. I'll make it myself."

"Neji, please. I can make coffee myself." The Hyuga ignored the Aburame as he slowly stood up, dusting invisible dust off of him. "I'm fine. If anything can you go inside the pocket of my jacket and get me my notebook, please…" Shino decided to let it go, there was nothing he could do against a Neji who wouldn't want to reason with anyone. Not saying anything else he went as he was told.

"Shino… If you were going to make tea, why did you ask?"

Shino didn't budge and slowly turned his head, eyes narrowing at the tea kettle, that if closely observed there could be seen a trail of gas destroying the area under it. He snapped out of the short trance in a cold sweat, palms clammy, and a shiver running down his spine. Everything was signaling danger to him.

"NEJI NO-!"

A second too late, Neji had already ignited the fire. The explosion had been so bad that his ears had a moment to pop before his head got snapped like a yo-yo against the wall, knocking him out cold for a few seconds. The adrenaline in his body didn't allow for anything else, "NEJI!" In return, only the sound of roaring fire greeted him back, not a body in sight on that side of the apartment had slowly started to crumble. Between the smoke and the debris, there was barely anything Shino could see at this point.

'_This is bad, this is really bad_.'

Shakily he shoved the small notebook inside the pocket of his jacket and with the other side, covered his face. How could Shino save someone else, when he couldn't even save himself? One deep breath and he knew better, he had to get out of there and find someone who could help them, even if it meant getting their covers blown. As he made it down the first floor he stood paralyzed, everything around him was on fire.

"Someone, I need your he…. Sir wait. Has anyone called the po-!"

"Move out of the way dumbass! You're in our way!"

A man had shoved him out of the way and was running to safety. Clutching his head in his hand, he gulped, he needed to find someone who could help them. His rational side had already made it very clear that the police and the firefighters were on their way, but the worry was there. His childhood friend could still be alive! He could find people with the strength to help him out.

"Sorry-?"

Shino looked up at the man who didn't move out of his way once he apologized for bumping into him, and under his glasses, his eyes strained to look at the figure.

"I'll pretend I didn't see you here… little cousin." Shino's eyes widened, a defensive stance against the man.

"Torune... you... you're with Danzo?! You are, aren't you?!" The man didn't move, "you won't get away with this, Torune!"

The older man just tilted his head up, analyzing the scene in front of him before he snapped a few pictures of the fire and dialed a number. "Yes, I'd like to confirm that Hyuga Neji, is deceased."

Shino's eyes widened, and that was it, he snapped like an autumn leaf hanging to its last breath on the tree. "TORUNE!" A fast fist flew right past him, and Torune easily retaliated back with a punch to the diaphragm that set Shino on his knees.

"You're not fit for this, Shino. Do not get in our way again. Use your last bit of energy to escape, follow the crowd and pretend none of this happened."

Without another word, Torune entered the blazing building, and with tears in his eyes, Shino did what he was told. He wasn't meant to play detective, but Danzo just put him to do it.

On another side of town, Madara had watched quite the firework display and tilted his head in amusement, a small idea popping into his head. "Kakashi… go check if there's anything left of that Hyuga." Kakashi nodded and without a single word he went off, "oh, also Kakashi, keep this between us. Whether Neji Hyuga is dead or alive, to the public he will be dead." For the second time in his life, he had hoped a Hyuga was alive.

'M_aybe I should go pay Hiashi a visit. He'll finally recognize me then.'_

[End Flashback]

Shino slowly picked up the bloody rag, his mind had drifted off so long that he hadn't even noticed when he took a shower. The smaller towel was draped over his long hair carelessly.

_'What am I going to tell Hinata?_' He physically flinched, '_what am I really going to tell her. Not only is she going to ask why I kept it a secret that I knew Neji was back, but why were we together. How did I see him die? Why was he there? Shit... I can't. I can't tell her. What's going to happen when Naruto and Lee find out?!_'

"I am truly sorry Neji..." He closed his obsidian eyes, trying to hold back the tears. The only solace that he had was that Neji somehow managed to survive it and crawled off somewhere. But how could he have, it was close range impact as if a bomb had been set off in front of him. If he had somehow managed to survive that, wouldn't have Torune finished him off?

Shino attempted to slam his fist down on the table but instantly stopped once he looked at the pocketbook Neji had asked for him to bring him. Carelessly he flipped it upon and tilted his head. The first page stated smack in the center, "If lost and found, please return to Neji Hyuga."

There was a phone number listed under it and everything. Shino didn't think too much of it. The first few pages were sketches of everyone he knew, Hinata, Lee, Naruto, and some girl he didn't recognize with buns on her head, and even one of himself. If there would have been nothing else, he would have been amazed at the technicality of the drawings, but what really caught his attention was the rest of the damned little notebook.

"... The Velocity analysis is equal to a clever indirect approach to this inverse problem, based on a concept of extended model or extension. Wait.. what?" Shino flipped a few pages over some more, "This statement has a ray - theoretic interpretation (which will eventually make sense): rays carrying significant energy are nowhere horizontal. Along any such ray, z decreases as t increases - coming up!"

For the next fifty pages of the notebook were filled with extensive equations on how to reverse time and the reverse depth of it all. Shino gently closed the book and took in a deep breath.

"Neji... you never took breaking up friendships too well, did you."

* * *

So what do you guys think? Good right? On a brighter note as I said before I'm on spring break and I'm trying as hard as I can to finish the next chapter before the end of the week! Wish me luck and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave any questions or PM me.

Also next chapter get ready for some ItaHinaSasu chacha~

With much love,  
The Count, Kennedy.


	17. Chapter 16: Kiss My Tears Away

Hello, everyone! How are you all? Good, hopefully, as for me, I'm doing fine. I know this is a shorter chapter than what I'm usually used to writing, but I'm back up on school work and such, so I'll leave this here for you guys. Also, I probably won't update until early May to mid-May because that's when classes end for me and such. And during those six weeks I have off, I'll try to update on a weekly base before I go back to my summer classes.

Aside from that, I would like to thank you to everyone who has left a review; you guys don't know how much that means to me. Thank you so much. And also, thank you for the 40k hits on this fanfic! That's amazing! I never thought something like this would do so well, again, thank you, everyone!

Thank you, everyone, really.  
I hope you also enjoy this chapter as well.

With much love,  
The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Kiss My Tears Away**

"Itachi are you sure about this?" The older man gave a small shrug of the shoulders, not thinking too much of anything. His father had asked him to go over to Sasuke's company and see how everything was going, even if the meeting had happened the day before. A slight amount of curiosity peaked Itachi in that sense; he hadn't agreed to go and do this, more like he was pushed to do it, but that was all right with him.

"Your leg, how is it working?"

Deidara smirked, "fine as it'll ever be. I can't feel any pain at all, un. Hidan gave me something for it. I'm sure in my elderly years it'll probably pop up, knowing that asshole."

Itachi shook his head slightly but decided not to say anything about it. They had been in the car for the past hour, watching people go in and out of the building, some tired, other a little too eager to be there. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch, '_Hinata._' The Hyuga was wearing an unflattering dark long skirt and a baggy, thick and woven maroon sweater. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she dressed in a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Itachi would have called her crazy for having worn something so thick, but knowing his little brother, the AC was probably at around in the high 60's making the place freezing.

'_You're going all out, aren't you_?' Itachi could even remember when he had given her those glasses himself. He never really thought that she'd use them, but then again, those were the same glasses he used to disguise himself when he walked around campus.

Without another word to Deidara, he got out and continued past the double doors, ignoring the weird look Suigetsu, and Kiba gave him. He'd make sure to use this moment to find out what exactly Hinata was doing there, and how long had she been there. If anything, he was more than curious about anything that had to do with the petite woman.

"Huh, was that Itachi?"

Suigetsu tilted his head, "I mean; they look the fucking same if you ask me, Itachi just seems like he's tired of everyone's shit. Sasuke just looks angry all the time."

Kiba snickered, and petted Akamaru, who slept peacefully in-between his chest and the thin layer of a jacket he wore.

"Hello, welcome to S&amp;U Fash- oh! Itachi-sama, I'm sorry we weren't expecting you. What can I help you with?" Tenten asked quickly towards the end of the sentence, considering she had failed to look up from her phone when he arrived.

"I'm paying my little brother a small visit. Courtesy of our father, please inform him that I'll see him in his office."

Tenten nodded quickly and swiftly dialed Sasuke's number as she watched Itachi disappear behind the elevator doors.

"Yes, Sasuke-sama, your brother is here- no sir… No sir, all that he said was that he was here in part from your father. I can't do that sir; he's already on his way up… Sasuke-sama? Hello?" She looks at the telephone in a confused manner that seemed almost comedic to anyone having passed by there.

Sasuke tapped the tip of his pen gently, waiting for Itachi to come in, and not a second to spare, the older Uchiha strolled in.

"Sasuke."

"Itachi."

There was an awkward and pregnant silence.

"Are you going to ask me to sit, or will I have to stay here standing awkwardly."

Sasuke scoffed to himself, arm outstretching itself as it pointed to an empty seat that Itachi strolled over.

"Don't get too excited to see; Sasuke, father sent me here."

The young Uchiha didn't budge.

"I just need to look over the files myself briefly; then I'll leave."

Sasuke shifted in his chair for a moment, "Hinata! Come on out, and bring the papers from yesterday's meeting as well. My brother is here."

Itachi's face didn't betray his unamused looked, but he was almost excited for the exchange, almost. She couldn't run from this moment even if she wanted to. Hinata, on the other hand, seemed like she was going to pass out any second. The world slowed down a little too fast for her, something she never thought could happen did and she gasped softly to herself. He wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't meant to see him. She hadn't changed enough to bare looking into his eyes and telling him what had happened. Then again, did he care? Did he care about her, about what they had, about what they could have had?

Hinata hesitated for a moment longer and everything clicked in heavily once again in her mind. Sasuke had a fiance, and he loved her or, at least, loved the idea of Sakura. She wasn't even that bad, Sakura was just a woman who was acting insecure because of Sasuke's actions. She was his fiance after all. And here Hinata was, all by herself, but no, there was a little bit more to it than that. Behind that door stood Sasuke, the man she was slowly developing a crush on, talking to the man she fell head over heels in love with not too long ago.

Her breath was shaky and at this moment she couldn't remember everything she had wanted to say to him- "Hinata, can you come outside already?" Sasuke's voice laced with impatience.

The Hyuga's muscles moved on her own, and she grasped the papers closer to her chest as she opened the door.

Their eyes met, coal ones looking into her fake blue ones. Hinata felt exposed, but then again what hadn't he seen her before. Her eyes quickly shifted away, hands clenching the paper harder.

"I'll be right back, Itachi just stay there, and I'm sure any questions you have, Hinata can answer them for you." Sasuke didn't know why Suigetsu let him in. For a split second, he hesitated, unsure if leaving Hinata to fend for herself was a good thing, but seeing how well she did with Gaara, is seemed just about right. Then again, Itachi was a whole other ball game. Pushing the thought far back into his mind, he slipped away towards Shikamaru and Naruto's respective offices. Sasuke had to find a way to get out of here as soon as possible.

Itachi didn't bother looking his brother's way.

"Name..."

Hinata shot her head up, knowing more than well it was addressed to her. "Nagumo, Hinata Nagumo."

The faintest of smiles bore on Itachi's face as he took a step forward and Sasuke had left the room. Hinata felt like she was going to faint, her heart was thumping loudly against her chest, and by Kami did he look beautiful. It wasn't fair. From the moment they met years ago in college, Itachi's personality has what captured her. A character so fascinating that if she allowed it to do so, her whole nature would be absorbed by it, maybe even her soul. She could easily remember the first day she met him in the piano room that no one would use. He was seated at the piano, his back to her, turning the pages of a volume of Liszt's 'La Campanella'.

She even remembered how lovely his voice sounded when he apologized for confusing her for someone else, back then it sounded dark and sonorous. Looking back at it now, that was probably the moment she fell in love with the man for who he was. But now- Kami it wasn't fair. After all of these years of not seeing him, but knowing who he was, he was even more attractive. Itachi was wonderfully handsome, a sincere look in his coal eyes, with his finely - curved scarlet lips. There was even something in his face that made her trust him almost automatically at once; it was as if he had kept himself unspotted from the world. He still had that same clean-cut jaw and broad shoulders. It even seemed like he kept the same hairstyle she loved so much.

No wonder woman chased after him; he was made to be worshiped.

"Hinata... Hyuga."

Her eyes widened as she stepped forward, her posture almost hunched down in defeat, but her tone was saying otherwise. She hated when she turned like this around him. This wasn't how it was in the past, this wasn't how it was supposed to end, but he did it. He killed what they had, and she dealt with it.

"Nagumo. You had lost the right to call me that long ago."

"Hinata..." He took another step forward, and she wished he would say something else than her name. She almost begged him to saw anything at her, shout at her, say something silly, but not her name. Not her name especially in that languid voice that was fascinating. But she felt afraid of him and ashamed of being afraid.

"I-Itachi... Stop, don't come any closer."

The man didn't heed her warning and came to a stop once her breath kissed his collar bone and she seemed for a split second to be shaking like a leaf.

"Hinata Hyuga, you could have had it all."

Her eyes widened more than she thought, his comment raising anger inside of her that she didn't know she had still for the man. Before she could say anything else, his lips gently touched hers and her world had exploded before her very eyes before they closed all on their own. Hinata's lips wanted to part in a slightly foolish but wonderfully endearing smile, but she knew better. She had to pull away but couldn't. Nothing was holding her back, it's not like she was cornered, and he held her in place, he only was kissing her, and she missed it. She missed him. Deep inside Hinata missed the way they meshed together in almost perfect harmony; she missed how he kissed every part of her.

Hinata may have been going through a personal hell, but Itachi was in a way, in his heaven. He had finally found out what he had been missing this whole time. Itachi would play the villain; he had no problem with that, but only if that meant that he could keep stealing kisses from her. Hinata forced herself to pull away, sighing softly against his lips. She didn't know what had come over her, but maybe this was the last goodbye she needed from him.

Itachi leaned in again, touching her hot, opening lips with an utmost piety, tiny sips, nothing salacious; but she, with an almost impatient wriggle, pressed her mouth to his so hard that he almost felt their front teeth touch for a split second, and he could share the peppermint taste of her saliva. He expected to have her scream and shout, to tell him off, to cry, but not this; he didn't expect her to love it as much as he was. That moment something clicked inside of him, Hinata was his. He did what he did before because he loved her, and she needed to get up on her own two feet.

But something, rather grave was lost. Something Itachi didn't know, something Hinata never said.

This time, he pulled away a split second too late, Kakashi had been at the entryway, watching them with them with the most amused look on his face. Closing the door behind him, he locked it quickly and smiled under his mask.

"A Hyuga and an Uchiha together. That's scandalous almost of itself."

'_It would even be more scandalous if the rest of the world found out. The supposed Hyuga head had another daughter and kept it a secret, and to top it off with the ex-heir to this company. The tabloids would eat it up in a second_.'

Itachi glared at him, his eyes flashing red, tomoes swirling slowly. Hinata, on the other hand, dropped the folders she had in her hand, not caring how they dumped on the floor. "What do you want, Hatake Kakashi?" Itachi's voice held no sign of humor nor character; his look was deadpan, and any sign of amorous feelings he had for the woman was long gone and replaced with utter calmness. He wouldn't change himself for anyone, not if it meant that it could protect her.

Kakashi shrugged slightly, his eyes still roaming over the shocked look on Hinata's pale face. "Nothing, I just didn't expect to see this little affair. When did this happen- actually no? Something tells me that I shouldn't know. "

"Kakashi, what exactly-?"

Hinata quickly swerved in front of Itachi, her eyes filling to the brim with unshed tears. With a quick bow, she continued onwards. "Please don't tell anyone, Hatake-san. I beg of you, please." Kakashi slowly moved his eyes over to Itachi's ready form, which looked like he was willing to strike if given the chance.

"You're not going to ask how I know, Hinata-chan."

Itachi took a step forward, almost damning himself for getting too entrapped in the moment and forgetting to look at the lock. It had to be one of the most amateurish moves he had ever made, no matter; he had just to fix it is all. She shook her head, "no, it was probably my fault, I was too careless-?!"

Kakashi just started laughing; it was almost amusing how she thought she was the one who committed a mistake. She didn't need to know how he had been tracking her every move from the moment she made it into this company, or how he collected her DNA sample in the car that one time he helped her. "Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan, I won't tell anyone about you, nor of what happened. But make sure no one else finds out, I don't think that they'll be as willing to keep this a secret as. If it makes you feel better, if it weren't because Itachi had said your name, I wouldn't have known. Thinking about it, though, it makes sense." Itachi smelled a liar, and a liar always knows a liar.

Hinata slowly raised her head up, a look of sheer gratefulness and happiness filled her features, "thank you, thank you so much, Hatake-san."

"And how do we know we can trust you?"

Kakashi shrugged at Itachi's words, "you really can't. But I've known that Hinata's been a Hyuga for a while, or maybe always had this hunch, this just fully confirmed it. Maybe it was the way she carried herself with grace when she thought that no one was looking, or the identical profile she had of her mother, or how she shared that beautiful trademark Hyuga smile. Just know that if I haven't told anyone already, I probably won't later."

Hinata visibly relaxed, maybe she was too trustworthy, but at the end of the day, she came to this company looking for a job. She didn't come here to cause tension, break people apart, or pit them against each other. She just wanted to be in a workplace that would recognize her abilities and good work ethic. In the beginning, of it all, she would have settled for truthfully, anything, but she knew she couldn't waste all those years of going to school to land in some bum place across the street. Hinata made a choice that moment, and no matter where it was, or who she would work for, she'd work for the best until she became the best.

It may have seemed like a simple thank you to anyone who was passing by, but she was eternally grateful to Kakashi.

Itachi mentally sighed, whatever had happened there was nothing he could do until Hinata left the room, and his best bet was to wait until she left or meet Kakashi afterward. His brother was probably around the corner. For a second the duo stood there quietly, unsure if getting caught by Kakashi was truly a bad thing. What if Sasuke himself was the one that came in at that moment? Itachi couldn't help but smirk at that, his little brother finding out he had dated his secretary. From the looks of it earlier that moment, it even seemed like he had developed a small crush on her that he hadn't even noticed. Hinata was his, and he wasn't going to let his beloved brother take one of the things he most cherished away from him, even if it granted Sasuke his true happiness.

Speaking of which, the younger male walked in, wondering absent-mindedly if he locked the door, but if that was the case, why was Kakashi in there.

"Kakashi, what is it?"

The silver haired man shook his head and gave a face smile under his mask, "Oh nothing, Hinata just needed some papers, and I gave them to her. Kin and Tayuya are currently occupied. Itachi can vouch for that much I presume?" His lazy gaze stayed on Itachi's now black eyes, concealing any sign of emotion he originally had in them.

"Yes. She was able to answer every one of my questions with accuracy and precision. You're quite lucky to have her by _your_ side."

Sasuke didn't know how to feel about such praise, especially after seeing Hinata look more nervous than her usual timid self. She seemed out of place, but being next to her brother almost brought something else out of them, almost as if she complimented him. In Sasuke's eyes, he detested Itachi, and he was even loath how well they looked together. A lump of something got caught in Sasuke's throat, was that lip gloss over Itachi's lips? Sasuke barely squinted his eyes, and let them analyze Itachi's lips, and how they turned into a ghost of a smirk.

Itachi wouldn't! He had nothing to gain from this. His mind raised to a million and one reasons, looking over at Hinata's flushed lips, and the same transparent coating over them. Sasuke wouldn't let that happen! He stopped himself from doing anything else, his eyes glaring daggers at the Uchiha sibling. He wouldn't admit it, but it severely discomforted him knowing that they could have kissed. If anything, it lit a match under his feet, anger blazing within him. Could it have happened? He only left for a few moments, and Kakashi was there. They wouldn't do that in front of him. Besides, they didn't know each other, right?

That was _his _secretary.

That was _his_ woman-… he stopped that train of thought immediately. This wasn't happening to him. He was a man who was engaged, who was going to get married. He… he didn't love Sakura, and every day the same feelings came up faster and stronger. Maybe, once upon a time she could have made him happy, maybe once upon of time they might have had something, but here and now… he couldn't feel anything for her.

"Itachi if you have nothing else to do, leave. I believe that should be enough of a report you're going to give father anyways. Hinata…" his voice interlaced with something she couldn't quite put her finger on it continued to the almost trail of into nothing. "Hinata… pick up the papers and get back to work."

Without a moment of hesitation she did as she was told, and hoped to everything that was holy and sacred out there, this was the last she'd see of Itachi. Hinata also hoped that Kakashi would keep his mouth shut and that her boss wouldn't find out. As she finished picking up the last piece of paper, she went back to her office and leaned her back against the door, taking in a deep breath and covering her face with the slightly crumpled up papers. Outside her office, Kakashi had excused himself and lazily took out his phone, going over some numbers on the screen.

The brothers shared an intense look for a few moments before Itachi broke it off, "take good care of her, Sasuke. You won't find a secretary like that every day." Without another word, Itachi walked past him but was held in place once Sasuke hand rested on his shoulder.

'_To hell with this, I'll find the truth sooner or later._'

At this moment, Sasuke didn't know what was bugging him more: whatever answer Itachi was about to give him, or the fact that he stilled believed they kissed. It was irking him to hell in back. He shouldn't care so much about his secretary that had helped him in so many ways before. Had practically given herself to him. Maybe she was falling for him as well.

'_Enough, Uchiha Sasuke. Get it together_.'

"Did you kiss, Hinata?"

Itachi look at Sasuke dead in the eyes, amusement jumping in those obsidian eyes, surprised he noticed, and even more surprised that he took the courage to tell him anything. It's not that he wanted to leave Hinata with a burden, but teasing his brother was almost worth anything.

"No…" Sasuke visibly relaxed, surprised even at himself for taking Itachi's words so honestly, "… she kissed me."

Without another word, Itachi slid open the door and closed it behind him, more than satisfied with what had happened. That smirk that plastered over his face would take a while for him to get ride off. He'd probably never hear the end of it from Deidara, who was still waiting for him in the car. Inside the office, Sasuke looked livid for a lack of another word. His emotions and thoughts stopped abruptly once Shikamaru and Naruto entered, right at the moment where it seemed he was going to beam his phone out the glass window.

"Huh, did the presidency get to your head finally, Sasuke?"

Sasuke slowly lowered his hand and shoved the phone into his pocket, taking a seat at the same time both of them did. He couldn't think about that now; the company was in jeopardy, and those thoughts weren't anywhere near as important as where this conversation was going to go. "Now Sasuke, let's get back to what we've been discussing these past few days. This new obsession of yours with this fake company."

"Yeah, Sasuke-teme, ever since you mentioned that a few days ago in the sketchy secret meeting, I'm not so sure I'm into this plan."

Sasuke's eyes drifted to Hinata's office, door closed, and her probably minding her own business. He had to do it; Sasuke wasn't going to loose to his father, his brother, and especially not someone like Sabaku no Gaara.

"I could care less how you feel about this situation, Naruto."

Naruto scoffed under his breath and decided just to keep his mouth shut, for now. Shikamaru was just thankful that the fire wasn't strengthened.

"This is going to be such a drag, but let's get this over. Let's start from the beginning. Sasuke, what you want is to create a dummy corporation that would appear to seize S&amp;U Fashion, but will, in fact, leave it in your control, though it would technically be under someone else's legal ownership, correct?"

Sasuke nodded his head.

"And where are we going to get the funds for another company?"

"A particular teacher of mine owes me. That money won't be much, but we can use it to invest and make a profit off of it, thus transferring the money into our accounts."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"So this is an extreme plan B in case the banks decide to seize the company because we're not making the profits required, correct?"

Sasuke shook his head once more in agreement.

"And who would be the candidate for such a position?"

Sasuke gave a swift hand movement that made both Naruto and Shikamaru look at him in surprise.

"You're kidding, right Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke just sent Naruto glare. "I have nothing to joke about in such moments. She's the person I trust the most."

Now that took the men by surprise; even Sasuke was a bit taken back by his words, even if he didn't show it.

"Oi, do you and Hinata have something you're not telling us about? Becuase you're engaged Sasuke, and you-?!"

Shikamaru laid a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Easy there, I think I know where Sasuke's coming from. It's a weird, but an understandable choice in his situation."

"Go ahead Shikamaru, go and tell me."

Nara's head looked at Sasuke as he spoke, even if he was explaining everything to Naruto, "he wants Hinata to be the director of that company because she's the one that knows the most about finances and knows what Sasuke is trying to do. If anyone else found out about what he was even imagining on doing, they'ed replace him with Gaara in a heartbeat. Seeing as Sasuke still wants to follow through on his promise to double the company's capital in a short span of time, but lacking the necessary experience to do it, in case his next collection also fails, there's this plan. As much as we could try, Naruto, Hinata would be the best option. Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong, or there's something you wish to add, Sasuke."

The Uchiha head gave a light clap and leaned back in his chair, "no. That's exactly it. Also, we're stopping business with the Aburame's, and going for a cheaper alternative."

"What's next, Sasuke, you're going to lower the quality of the clothing even more?" Naruto's words rang in his ear like a dumb and sick reminder of how close to was to losing this match.

"Yes, Naruto, I am."

"Sasuke, that's not a good idea. We can't cut back anymore than what we already have. We'll lose the clientele that we have. Fugaku will be furious, and Sakura will be livid once she founds out she isn't even being taken into consideration."

"Sakura wouldn't want to understand the situation that I'm in; we cannot explain this to her, Shikamaru."

"I don't think you're giving her enough credit, Sasuke. Sakura might figure something out." Sasuke shook his head, "no. She wants what is best for me, not for the company. That's where most of our arguments arise from." Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged worried glances but decided just to hear the Uchiha out as much as they could before things would escalate to the point of no return.

"Which brings me to the fake company I was mentioning. We're going to make it settle in Panama."

Shikamaru tensed, and Naruto gasped out loud, both knowing exactly where this was going the risks it can bring for the company. Sasuke wanted to do business with an offshore company. And working for an offshore company, especially in the situation that they were in, wasn't going to be done for legal reasons. Shikamaru was just scared, not only for himself and Naruto, not only for the company but Sasuke. He was slowly turning into Madara.

Shikamaru tapped his forefinger against his knee; this was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Danzo was a man who was not easily amused, but moments like this brought back the happiness he had long lost.

"I see, Torune. You may leave."

Torune nodded his head, with a quick bow he swiftly left Danzo to his work. Looking outside a small window, the man with the bandaged eye tilted his head to the side with amusement. Without another second to spare he called Orochimaru who seemed almost too excited to be expecting his call.

"Orochimaru."

The old man who resembled a snake smirked, "yes? Ah, well hello there, Danzo. Just by seeing this call I'm assuming our plan went as planned?" Orochimaru hissed under his breath; Danzo wasn't the only one excited about all of this.

"Yes, Torune confirmed it, he took his pulse and the person was deceased. It seems the caged bird couldn't expand his wings and gain any more freedom than what he thought he could take."

"Yes, duly noted, is there anything else that I'll be missing?"

Danzo shook his head absentmindedly, "well, there is still the predicament with Madara. As of now I only have one thing that could eliminate him out of our way, but it seems too dangerous to do a plan like that now. I'll send Torune your way in a few days with the details."

Orochimaru finished handing Guren an envelope; she didn't question anything. "As you wish, Danzo, goodbye." Without another word, Orochimaru hung up and placed the phone back inside his pocket.

"So, does that prove my loyalty to you now, Madara?"

Madara sat silently, elbows on a table as his hands crossed in front of him, covering the lower part of his face. "Hm, your actions will speak louder than your words, Orochimaru. I don't do deals with snakes, but if it means I can take down someone as Danzo, then so be it. I will wait patiently for the day you bring me his corpse."

Orochimaru smirked, then placed his hands inside his pockets. "It seems I won't be able to do that until I take Sarutobi out of the picture, but you already understood that didn't you?"

Madara stayed silent and gave a curt nod.

"Hm, I'm glad, well as I was saying, congratulations Guren on your job well done. We have to make it seem like an accident, so I'll have my people working on that. I can't have you losing your job just yet.

The purple haired woman nodded her head softly unsure of how to properly deal with the situations. When she was told to increase the amount of gas in a residential area, especially one like that she didn't think that was what her actions were going to cost her. In actuality it didn't cost her anything but time, in return, she gained an increase of $500,000 US dollars from Orochimaru.

Madara watched the situation silently, too amused, too in control of his emotions to let any of it go through. They couldn't know; no one could. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and his glanced over the name, 'Danzo.' Without another word, he read the text message and smiled at the bottom part of it, the last sentence that tied what he wanted to happen all together: '_When do we get rid of Orochimaru?_'

* * *

Meanwhile, the internet was going ballistic; there was not a single news coverage or station that wasn't going on about the death of Neji Hyuga, the ex-heir and head of the Hyuga Corporation. Twitter was blown over, Instagram was in shambles, people's facebooks were filled with heartfelt letters and comments about the Hyuga. Shino turned on the radio station and almost regretted it.

"—I understand Ume, but this is Neji Hyuga. The young man left and disappeared without a trace for years. He left his friends and loved ones behind. Should we even feel sorry for a man like that, a coward who couldn't stand up for what he truly wanted."

Another voice popped up, "I think I'm with Ume on this one, Koga. Neji may have been a dick, for a lack of a better word, maybe even selfish and a bit of a stuck up asshole, but maybe he did what he did because of personal reasons that no one knows. You can't keep giving your fans what they want when you can't get what you need. Neji Hyuga was too tormented by his past. Not to mention how they found him."

He switched to another station, "-yes we can't believe her either. The great designer had fallen, and Hiashi Hyuga is nowhere to be seen-." Shino sighed and turned the dial to another station, "- men like him don't live in slums. No matter how much money he had, he couldn't have lost all of it. Something sounds fishy to me, and I don't know about you guys, but-"

Shino tensed and sped up to stop right in front of S&amp;U Fashion, waiting for Hinata. He had texted half an hour ago saying he needed to speak with her urgently about something important. He switched the radio back to the first station he played. Ume spoke up on the radio, "that's right. It was horrendous. To believe he took a blast like that. They needed to do an autopsy on the body just to make sure they could identify it because they couldn't even recognize the face. No matter how much of an asshole you might be, no one deserves a death like that." The radio stayed silent, and Shino turned it off, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little too hard, making his knuckles turn white. A knock on his window snapped him out of his daze, unlocking the car, he let Hinata in unable at first to look at her face.

"Ah, Shino-kun, don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure no one was able to see us. Is everything okay?" Her face was untouched with pain, a small smile on her features.

He gulped and started to take off in the direction of her house. "No, no it's not Hinata. I'll go and explain the details in your room." The younger woman blinked in confusion, wondering what it could have been.

"Is everything okay, is your family and business alright?"

Shino tensed but nodded the less, "yes." His voice cut throat, and its usual crisp was gone. Hinata's eyes widened as she turned in her seat to face him, "father, is he alright?! What about Hanabi, is Hanabi alright? Did something happen-!"

"Enough!" The car screeched to a stop as Shino closed his eyes for a brief moment, "I'm sorry I snapped at you, please Hinata. I need a moment. Please, just be patient, I can't tell you this here."

At this moment Hinata didn't know what to think, she was so confused, hurt and scared that all she could do was stay neatly and calmly seated next to her friend. Without another word, they made it to her home in record time. Making their way upstairs, Shino made a mental note and was grateful the house was empty; Hanabi had probably found out about it and took Hiashi and Ko with her. For all Shino knows, maybe they were the ones that had tried to identify the body to begin with. What happened to Neji, and how much of a failure he had been to Neji. That should have been him, not Neji.

"-ino… Shino, alright, please explain to me what's going on."

At that's when Shino was sure he was going to lose it. From the inner pocket of his suit, he retrieved a small booklet, handing it to Hinata in a careful manner. Her eyes stared at the tiny thing, and everything clicked into place, her bottom lip slowly trembling.

"Sh-Shino… Shino why, why do you have that?"

He held onto it a litter tighter, still waiting for her to take it. "Hinata, I was with Neji when the incident happened. Neji's… Neji's dead." He wanted to say 'gone', but he didn't want to give her any bit of misinformation.

Hinata froze in place; something wasn't adding up. She wanted to ask why they had been together, why they hadn't told her. She wanted to yell and scream at Shino for being who he was right now, but she couldn't. Hinata didn't want to feel anything, but all she could feel was the pain, sadness, and despair. Without a second thought, she slapped the book down to the ground in sheer anger, the thud it made snapping her back into reality.

"Shino… Shino I'm sorr-sorry."

"Hinata, let me-?!"

She didn't give him a chance to continue, "Sh-Shino... you're lying. You have to be... people were saying he was around here! He couldn't be- he can't, Shino I haven't-" a sob escaped her, "I h-haven't had the chance to tell him-him I'm sorry..."

The Aburame clan heir only took a step forward to pat her back, trying to sooth the wounded woman, but to no avail. Without a hint of hesitation, she buried her face against his chest; her tears stained his shirt and the tears just flowed out faster.

"The world," he solemnly said, "sadly does not owe us any favor, and it... it isn't fair," and then he broke down, just for one moment, his sob roared like a clap of thunder, that people who didn't know Shino might have mistaken it for weakness. Then he pulled Hinata even closer to him and, his arms held the truth of his actions- he didn't want to let go, "there's no need to apologize, Hinata. Neji loved you, dearly, and I'm sure that book is more than enough proof."

By now Hinata was crouched on the floor like a poor wounded thing, and Shino, with his beautiful coal eyes covered by his sunglasses, slowly let his fingers run through her hair. The scene may have seemed romantic to anyone who would have opened that door, but it was far from the truth.

"I – I can't breathe; I can't breathe Shino. Wh-what, why did any of this happen? What do I tell Hanabi and father?"

The man buried his nose in her hair, staying silent was his best bet now. He couldn't tell her everything, not the whole truth. She wouldn't be ready for it. He thought about Lee for a moment, how the young man might have taken the whole thing, but knew deep inside he was in as much pain as they were. Although Shino couldn't help but wonder, who was the feminine voice that spoke when she picked up his phone.

While Hinata's home was filled with sadness and despair, Naruto house was filled with anger and resentment.

"How could he!"

Yondaime ducked as he dodged another table. The news had hit Naruto like a brick train, he had just passed his pure anger phase where it was just throwing everything he could find his hands on, now he was on his bitter and rage phase. When he threw something, tears were cascading down his eyes.

"Naruto enough! People can't control when they die!"

"No, but they as sure can control when they go to a country and not tell their friends. He left us, Dad! He left us like idiots and now when we're hearing about him for the first time in forever he's dead!" Naruto's voice roared through the house, echoing outside. Thankfully Kushina wasn't home or if not Yondaime would have had to buy new furniture for the entire living room.

"Naruto, enough, calm down. All this anger and sadness that you have inside of you isn't going to go away by—Naruto! Damn, it stop!" He ducked once more and stopped a chair from hitting him in the face.

"I'm sorry, Namikaze-san. If I had known this would have happened, I would have told him in the confinements of the building." Sasuke stood quietly, not feeling like he should have gotten involved with such family matters. Sure, it was sad that an old rival had passed away, and it was sketchy that he was found in such a deplorable state, but frankly, Sasuke didn't care as much as he should have. He never knew the Hyuga, and he didn't seem like he wanted to either. Sasuke had enough problems with his family and brother; he didn't need more problems with Neji either, but he also knew better than to speak his mind on such a matter, especially when it concerned Naruto.

"Not at all, I prefer to tame him here, then somewhere where I can't reach him- Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?"

By then Sasuke had taken off his blazer and got into a fighting stance, "I'm going to calm down your child. It seems I unleashed a sacred beast. Give me a moment-!" Before Sasuke could focus his eyesight properly, a punch hit him straight in the face causing him to lose his balance and fall back. Naruto took to the moment simultaneously to straddled him and through a barrage of punches to Sasuke's face that he blocked with surprising and perfect accuracy and precision. Throwing one more punch, Sasuke grabbed the blond's wrist, twisted it to the side and made sure to buck his hips up so Naruto would lose some of his balance.

Seeing a small opening, the Uchiha took it and switched their position. Naruto was pinned with his arms over his head as Sasuke stared at him eye to eye, cerulean hues meeting crimson swirling tomoes.

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke! Let go of me!"

"Why are you acting like this? You've never lashed out your anger at your loved ones."

Naruto stopped struggling for a split moment, unsure as to how to continue and counteract his friend's argument. "Neji… Neji couldn't have died like that. Neji, he's more careful than that. Someone had to kill him, Sasuke! Someone had to! Why else would he be in such a shit place, why would he need to be there like some rat who had taken something important from a cat?!"

Sasuke would never say it, even if it meant that he would take it to his grave, but he was proud of Naruto at this moment for being so astute and being to see such a small detail.

"Will you calm down?

Naruto snarled but reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, just get the hell off of me."

Yondaime blinked, unsure of what he had just heard and witness. The scene was too weird for him. Sasuke had a bruised eye and a bloody nose; meanwhile, his stubborn child had a runny nose, tear stained cheeks, and red eyes from crying so much.

'_Oh Kushina, when are you coming bac_k?'

Yondaime wondered more to himself than anything. Sasuke stood up and slowly helped Naruto up as well, both dusting themselves off. Naruto had caused such a shamble that the whole living room was a giant mess. Tables were turned and broken, chair destroyed and out of place, vases were broken, and glass everywhere. Without another word, Yondaime left them there to find a box filled with garbage bags and a broom, mop, and dustpan.

Once Yondaime was out of earshot, Naruto kept staring at the floor, tears still trickling down his cheeks uncontrollably. "Th-this doesn't end here, Sasuke. I'll… I'll find out the truth for Neji."

Sasuke stood next to his friend, unsure of what to say. He couldn't have cared less for Neji, but Naruto, he wouldn't allow for his friend to suffer like that. If anyone would make Naruto suffer it would be him.

* * *

The clock struck and both men kept glancing at each other in a bored manner. Madara had been trying to have a civil dinner with the man in front of him, but it seemed that wouldn't be the case anytime soon. Looking at the taped back together paper, he analyzed the check lazily. $1.5 Billion US dollars were written on that.

"I want you to have that. As a reminder." Tobirama stated in a matter of fact tone, fork and knife down.

"I don't need a reminder. The memory of shoving that up your ass makes me laugh at least once a day." Quite the contrary, that day was the only day Madara counted his lucky stars and was grateful for who he was and had. Although it was something, he'd never admit to anyone, especially the white-haired man in front of him.

"Yeah, I bet it does. But I'm not laughing."

"You should, Tobirama. The studies say that laughter does more to contribute to a general sense of well-being than almost anything else." He slowly cut the last bit of the steak and plopped a piece in his mouth.

"Oh, yeah?"

"I'm not laughing now is what you should've said, Tobirama."

"Oh, why is that? Because my family has been kicked around like wounded puppies because of you? Because of your selfishness! Because of who you are!" Tobirama was standing up, chest slightly moving.

"I losing him too, Hashirama is and will always be the only person I care about."

"Oh. Well, then maybe you have a sliver of my pain because you stripped away everything that matters to me."

Madara put the fork and knife down; he didn't want a repeat of that fateful day. He also didn't know if Tobirama had a wire on him, so it would be best to keep this as simple and clean as possible. "You came at me!"

"Because you're a criminal, Madara. And it's my job to shut 'em down and put 'em in jail."

"Well, if that's true, you're not very good at it. You're also full of shit. What have I done wrong? Really? Except making money, succeed. All these rules and regulations arbitrary chalked up by politicians for their ends. And these fines you're always going after, where exactly do they go? Who gets them? The poor? No. The Treasury, the government. It's taxation by other means." Madara's voice laced in venom; he had other things to worry about. It was always the same. Tobirama would invite him to dinner, try to pull out some dirty laundry, and again crash and burn.

"Save the civics lesson bullshit. The fines are the minimum of what you should have to pay, Madara!"

"How amusing, you decide what cases to take, and you only make the cases you won't lose. But you got it wrong with me because this country built on industry, imperialism, and competition. So they will always have a place for me. I have done nothing wrong." Big fat lies coming from someone like him, but it was a lie he needed to keep telling everyone. Eventually, when a lie repeated enough, it becomes the truth.

"The rugged individual who won't back down to the unimaginative, do-gooder authorities. Only, in reality, those guys stole and hurt and destroyed lives. Now you say you don't think you've harmed anyone. I say that the effect is the same, worse even because you infect the entire world. You throw the whole system off balance, leaving chaos and poverty in your wake."

Madara gave a dark laugh, eyes piercing red, "I make the system run. I have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and philanthropy. I employ hundreds of people directly, thousands indirectly. What do you do? Nothing besides suck from the municipality feeds off of it. And in exchange, you do what, Tobirama? Keep order? You're nothing more than a mere traffic cop." His eyes slowly turned back to their normal coal color, arms resting softly on his chest.

Tobirama's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, his smirk gone now plastered with a frown. "I'm moved. I am, that is going to play huge to the other guys - on your cell block. Oh, you're sure to become President os something in the Tokyo Federal Prison. Because no matter what you say, that's where you're ending up. Keep that as a memento. And every time you look at it, know that deal is as good as it is ever going to get for you. And one day, you are gonna wish like fucking hell that it was still on the table." By then, Tobirama was storming away, reaching for the door, but stopped midway due to Madara's voice.

"Then you should have kept half of that for yourself, too. Because when I pull a deal off the table, I leave Hiroshima behind."

"You know, the only enemy more dangerous than a man with unlimited resources is one with nothing to lose." And like, and without another word, Tobirama left a calm and thoughtful Madara behind.

"I never thought he was going to leave." Raising an eyebrow up, Madara looked behind him and saw someone he wasn't expecting, at least not for a small while.

"Hm, well, if it isn't Uchiha Sasuke, what do I owe this pleasure to?"

"I need your help with something."


	18. Authors Note

Hello everyone, Kennedy the Count here.

I know some of you guys maybe disappointed that this isn't a chapter, especially after what happened to the last chapter and the promise I had made to continue the story. So let me explain a little about what has happened to me during this summer, and what is going to happen afterward. As some of you know, I'm an Art Major who is finishing off her Bachelor's degree next year, and for those that don't know, I take summer classes to catch up and be able not to take as many classes in the Fall or Spring. This means that starting September; I will be very busy trying to have my portfolio ready to be submitted to different universities to see if I can apply to a masters program, if not I need to take a year and work on it some more.

As for what's been going on with me lately is that in my school our summer classes can be divided into Summer A, Summer B, and Summer C. Summer A and B are both six weeks, while Summer C is 12 weeks none stop. Summer A constitutes of the last two weeks of May, until the last week or so of June. While Summer B constitutes all of July and the first or second week of August, depending if there was a week in June or not. So how I had picked out my classes were none in Summer A (giving me six weeks of freedom) and two in Summer B. Which, by the way, they were studio classes, and that requires a lot more attention and time out of class to work on our projects.

So my thought process, in the beginning, was, "school is ending, and after I finish studying for finals, I'll take these two weeks to myself, and once summer A starts I can start writing the fanfictions. I'll write a chapter a week with about 8k - 12k words depending on the chapter, and once summer B starts, I'll just post one up each week so the readers can have something to read, and I won't be worried about writing something during those six weeks."

But did it happen? No, that would have been too good of a plan. One of my professors for summer B switched last minute and was only available to take during summer A. I couldn't just say no because that class was a prerequisite for another one I was going to take in the Fall, if not I'd be another semester behind. I couldn't have that, so I ended up taking the class and added another class for Summer B, and man was I in for a rude awakening.

The workload has been so intense that I pretty have ended up with carpal tunnel, and a rotator cuff tear on my right shoulder. For those that don't know, a rotator cuff is a group of four tendons and muscles that converge around the shoulder joint at the top of the humerus, the upper arm bone above the elbow. Together, they form a ''cuff'' that both holds your arm in place and allows it to move in different directions. While your shoulder is one of your most mobile joints, it's also somewhat weak. Too much stress can cause partial tears and swelling in the tendons of the rotator cuff. Abrupt stress may even cause one of the tendons to pull away from the bone or tear in the middle of the tendon. In my case, I paint standing up too much for too long. I'm talking about at most 9 hours every other day. And you know what the solution to injuries like these are? Resting, fully for at least two months, (which I haven't been able to do cause school ends for me next week) so it can have time to heal. Not only that, but I was told to limit my time on the computer, and phone because it could cause a pinched nerve in my thumb or wrist, and that's the last thing I need.

That's been pretty much what I've been up to. Trust me, it's not because I don't want to reply, it's because I physically can't (and shouldn't).

Although, there is some good news! I do plan on continuing this story, and don't think for a moment that I've thought about dropping it or anything. I love this story, what I'm writing, and the fans. You guys are the best. All that I do ask is for though is patience and to be aware of a few things. The nice long chapters that I use to write, you might want to forget about that, I don't think I'll be able to do so. Expect on average a word count between 4k - 7k. It'll probably just be divided into part 1, part 2, so on and so forth.

And one last note, I might be revising and redoing a few of the beginning chapters, just to make it flow a little better with where this story is going. So if you see a previous chapter deleted and then added again, I say don't worry about it. I'm just doing some more revision.

Again, I apologize for the delays but don't worry. This fanfiction is going to continue. I hope you are all doing well and thank you for being such great fans.

Sincerely, The Count Kennedy.


	19. Chapter 17: A Hyuga's Funeral

Hello, everyone! How has everyone been doing? Good, I hope. Well, I've been alright, 2016 hasn't been bad for me; it's just been a bit of a hassle. Thank you to everyone who has messaged me and showed me their support, and thank you to all the faithful fans and readers of this fanfic, I couldn't do it without you guys. Thank you for being so patient with me, I do appreciate it. I've had a couple of rough months, and I made a lot of promises I couldn't keep, I hope that I'm able to keep some of them next year. I did okay in my classes, not as good as I expected, but hey, something is better than nothing. That aside, my arm has been healing better, which is an excellent thing, but the healing process on this in so extra, it gets in the way of a lot of things.

But, better to stay healthy than complain about the problem. That aside, I hope you guys have a fantastic new year and happy holidays. May 2017 be everything we expected from 2016, and may we all do the best we can in our endeavors.

As for the fanfic, I'll be editing the majority of the previous chapters, so don't be surprised if all of a sudden I take out some chapters and reupload them. They won't be completely different, but because my thought process and writing style has changed so much over the past two years, I believe certain scenes need to be re-written for better reading. After all, aren't fanfics just fantastic in that aspect? The chapters I'll be uploading from now will be smaller, but with more quality and *hopefully* they'll be uploaded at a faster time. I'm aiming for weekly, but who knows how fast I'll be doing this.

Once more, thank you all for being with me so far, and I hope you keep enjoying the ride, there is much more exciting drama to unfold in this story.

With much love,  
The Count, Kennedy.

* * *

**Chapter 17: A Hyuga's Funeral**

"- Japanese CEO Hyuga Neji, whose career had only just begun, has passed away two days ago. His cold stare and silver colored eyes were his calling card - making his authoritative persona even more imposing, but charming to the ladies.

Born in Azabu, a residential area in Tokyo, Neji was an only child but was always surrounded by his uncle, Hiashi Hyuga and younger cousin, Hanabi Hyuga; whose location is still unknown, but sources have stated that they were the ones to identify the body and prepare the private ceremony. His father died in a horrendous car crash when he was six years old; his mother died giving birth to him, his immediate family seeking him out and raising him as one of their own."

The news reporter vanished when a video of Neji, giving a ghost of a smile and sitting down next to a tv host, appeared on the screen. _"My father was a strong man," he later said. "He could do anything. Hizashi was always reinventing himself, making sure to keep the company up on its feet."_

The image cut back to the news reporter, "The young Hyuga showed an interest in the martial arts from an early age and trained in Baguazhang, seeming to have perfected the coveted Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms by the age of 12, and won first place in multiple world championships as well. Having attended Standford University at the age of 17, and graduated with his MBA by 21, it was enough to show everyone how dedicated he was to keeping the company running ever since he became the head of i-"

The television quickly shut off as Hiashi whipped a few tears from his cheeks, hands trembling from nervousness and anxiety. He couldn't bare to hear the news anymore. His crisp and flowery soft hands had turned into tired and worn out fists, balled tightly as they slammed onto his paralyzed legs, again and again. While Hiashi couldn't feel a thing, he knew a bruise would start to form sooner or later; frustration was high in the air, depression seeping from every pore.

A soft mumble and sniffle caught his attention, slowly he looked over his shoulder, catching a small glimpse of his eldest daughter fast asleep. Hinata was sleeping quite peacefully on the sofa, lying on her right side, with one hand underneath her cheek. With her back to him, she looked like a girl who had been tired out with play or study. He inhaled deeply and opened his palms faced up, stretching his almost numb fingers.

"Hinata..." His voice has trailed off into a soft whisper, a touch of pathos in it.

"You must be exhausted, Hinata. But do not worry, one day... one day I will explain everything to you, and how you came to be. Soon my child, soon." If listened to closely, a faint touch of tenderness had sneaked its way in. Adjacent to them, behind the flat off-white wall Hanabi had been sitting down on the wooden floor, her knees tucked under her chin, her short hair making a thin curtain around her features. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, looking straight ahead as if there was something only she could see.

"What are you hiding father?"

_"Onee-chan, why isn't father waking up?" Hanabi asked gently, pulling on the hem of her older sister's plaited school skirt, only to receive a distressed look back. The younger sibling could barely recall the words her sister spoke, but the bright lights of the ambulances and police cars were an image burned into her mind. Her mind slowly shifted scenes to the both of them standing solemnly in the middle of the ER room, holding each other's hand tenderly. _

Despite how many people had passed by, there were two figures Hanabi could never forget. While their faces were still a dark shadow in her mind, their values were as clear as day. Tall and imposing. The first man wore formal clothes, his hair was tied up in a mid ponytail, spiky towards the end, and arms crossed over his chest, chin tilted up. The other man's face was a shrouded mystery if it hadn't been for her sister's tug at that moment and a stranger passing in front of her, she would have seen him clearly. He took had long dark hair, skin a ghoulish white, but with a men's kimono on.

Those two men stood out too much at that moment for them to be nobodies.

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "who am I missing? How much am I missing?"

* * *

"I pity them, especially Naruto."

Shukaku stated calmly over to Kakashi, his voice slightly languid and drawn out. The scarecrow could tell the older man was tired, and not only because of the job he had taken.

"I had myself been taken back by the news, not being able to do anything but watch in horror, and yet I, who had up to an hour ago decided to come, felt my heart sink within me as I saw all of this. The tomb looks so ghastly white, Kakashi. He was so young."

Kakashi closed his eyes, a thoughtful look falling over him, slight droplets of water were starting to fall. Even the sky was morning the young death. The Hyuga family had held a private ceremony the day before and had allowed another closed casket ceremony for friends and partners. Rumors had it that the figure was so burnt and disfigured, that if it hadn't been for someone who was with him at the moment, they wouldn't have been able to identify the body.

"This is the last time anyone will technically see him before they cremate him," Kakashi nodded, one eye opening and looking over at everyone who had appeared, well more who hadn't appeared from the business world. Everyone was dolled up in charcoal, and coal. Everyone was present, from the Akimichis and Yamanaka's to the Uchihas and Uzumakis. Shino and his father were the first to arrive and seemed very interested in being the last to leave.

"Naruto, sweetie let us go now. It's starting to sprinkle."

The beautiful redhead murmured, one hand gently on his shoulder as if to guide him away, but with no avail. Only moments ago had he given an excellent speech about his friendship with the Hyuga, how he would trade anything to see him again, and yet those blue eyes were dull and cold. Even Sasuke Uchiha's usually perfect mask was driven away to reveal one of mild sadness, but Kakashi knew it wasn't towards the Hyuga, it was towards the way Naruto was feeling. Even Itachi was present with the other members of Akatsuki.

Every so often they would make eye contact, but it would turn into nothing. Kakashi knew sooner or later he would have to speak with the eldest Uchiha sibling.

A sharp drop placed itself inside his drink, his eyes moving up at the roaring sky. For a second everything seemed to pause. The wind fell entirely inviting in an eery calmness, a sultry heat followed, which seemed to crack the atmosphere and give way to the rain that littered the area. The photo of Neji in a wooden frame, upon the marble stand, was starting to fog up, the clanging sound it made as it fell to the harshness of the rain was muted out by the sound of people's footsteps and high shrieks of surprise due to the water.

Never did cypress, or yew, or juniper seem to embody the gloom of the funeral as much as it did today. Never did tree or grass wave or rustle so ominously in the background. Never did branches creak so mysteriously, and never did the far-away howling of dogs send shivers down everyone's back.

As everyone started to fall together into two straight lines, they each waited for their cars until a black Audi pulled up, revealing none other than Madara Uchiha. Everyone stared silently, some like Ino, stared a little more opening until Sakura had to jab her elbow into her friend's rib. No one said anything; some kept glaring while others were too in shock to do anything.

"Am I too late?"

His voice was like smooth like velvet, deep as well, matching well with the cold rain.

"It seems you are, Uchiha Madara."

For a moment everyone looked at each other in confusion, unsure as to where the voice came from, not to mention who it was from. One by one a look of surprise, shock, or amusement filled everyone's face. Even the stoic Gaara had a slightly bewildered look on his face when he saw Hiashi roll over to the vast number of people waiting to leave.

The Uchiha looked at everyone one more; his body drenched and skin was turning an off white, lips a tint of red. The large bouquet of white stargazer lilies hides his cool and shivering fingertips. Hiashi was relentless, a cold, stern look in his eyes.

"If you still wish, you can place them on his tombstone tomorrow."

In a mere moment, as they locked his, Madara decided to withdraw. A ghost of a smile fiddled upon his porcelain skin. "As you wish, Hyuga-san. My condolences." Without another word, Madara gave a curt bow and turned around to leave in his car.

Once he was out of view, his traveled back to find the older Hyuga, but he too was nowhere to be seen.

"What just happened?" Asked Usagi, as she looked at a confused Rei.

"Who knows, but I believe it's time for us to leave," motioned Kurenai as she placed a long strand of hair behind her ear, walking out and over a shallow puddle with her husband, Asuma.

"What was that about?" Mikoto asked out softly, mostly to herself than her husband driving the car.

"Hm, it seems to me those two are not in real terms, although it did take me by surprise. I didn't expect to see either of those two hermits appear. I mean, Hiashi had even made a previous private event for just his family and close friends before this one. And from the looks of it, it seems as if Madara had an invitation."

"I don't think the invitation is the right word," motioned Itachi in the back seat behind his mother.

"But you can't crash a funeral either, especially if you're late to it. It seems Madara did get an invention to it, even if it was half-heartedly done," followed Sasuke, seating behind his father. The parents stayed quiet listening to their children before the loud sound of the rain seemed to tune them out.

"Oh, are you defending him Sasuke?"

Sasuke fixed his tie for a moment, "I could care less about that decrepit old man."

"It seems to me like you do, especially if you went and visited the man a few days ago," his voice was small and laced in venom, eyes narrowing dangerously as red met red.

"What are you insinuating, Itachi?"

"I don't insinuate anything, little brother. I just know that you are wrong, Sasuke, in what you're doing, but I won't argue with you. It is only the intellectually lost who ever argue. Tell me, is Madara very fond of you?"

Sasuke looked out the window while taking his advice, also ignoring his brother. Closing his eyes, he remembered how the conversation went the night before.

_"I need your help with something."_

_Madara tilted his head, "oh? No matter, follow me." Without another word, the duo walked silently until they reached another room in his spacious home. Once the doors opened Sasuke was greeted with somewhat of space, he didn't expect. The room was more sparsely furnished, but exquisitely so._

_"Make yourself at home. I'll be right back."_

_Seeing the doors close behind him, Sasuke took in a deep breath and walked over to the red cushion placed in front of a dark wooden table, sitting comfortably he took the whole room in. The tatami mats had to be new, as they smelled richly of straw, and had a yellow- green sheen. While most tatami mats had the edge of the border in fabric such as cotton, but these were edged in a strip of silk, with a pattern of red and gold._

_Not far away in a square alcove hung a scroll written with beautiful calligraphy, which turned out to be written by Madara himself. It is said that swordsmanship and calligraphy go hand in hand, so Sasuke took a moment to analyze it thoroughly._

_Beneath it, on the wooden base of the alcove, an arrangement of blossoming spider lilies rose up out of a shallow dish that was irregular in shape with a cracked glaze of the deepest black. Before Sasuke could question the laws of physics it had, Madara came back in, dressed exquisitely in a black and white men's kimono, red flames at the hem of the sleeves._

_"Sasuke Uchiha, my dear nephew. What do I owe this pleasure."_

_He tilted his head slightly up, by now the sun was casting shadows of green and purple into the room, illuminating the candle lit room with a soft glow and radiance._

_Without hesitation, Sasuke began, "I need to borrow some money."_

_"Some money? How much are we talking Sasuke?" A maid came in with a tray of tea._

_"Enough to build an offshore company in Panama and stabilize the one I have now."_

_Madara's poker face was impenetrable._

_"And how much would that be?"_

_"$1.5 Billion US dollars. Everything will be given back to you by the end of my honeymoon, or year."_

_"Hm, so around at most six months or so. Interesting. And if you fail to pay me back?"_

_"There is no failure in this," Sasuke took a sip of his tea._

_"Let me tell you a small story, Sasuke. When I was your age and running one of my companies, of course under a pseudo name, I had a little over $2.2 billion US dollars to my name, and I took a risk with a pharmaceutical company. During that time, I had the best analytical and strategic team on my side, with Shisui as my right-hand man. I couldn't lose, or so I thought; Shisui had stated that the company had called and in 9 minutes I would get the answer of a lifetime. If I held my place, we could double our money, promptly making an estimate of $900 million clean, including legal fees, and any minuscule costs that came our way. That was increasing the amount of money I had put in by double. If I didn't, I would make 10% of what I had put."_

_"10% is still a large sum, uncle."_

_"For a meager starter company who seem to be okay being bottom feeders, which none of my companies are."_

_Sasuke tilted his head slightly to the side letting the older man speak, "Shisui continued saying he was afraid that we would lose, all of this was riding on a coin toss, but that 50% chance... those had been some of the best odds I had ever had in my life. I had told him I understood the risks, I had done the research, and this would be lights out the deal. None of us had noticed though that over 600 companies had inhibitors and we were in quite the struggle, and only one would win approval in market share."_

_"I specifically told Shisui not to worry; I would be the deciding factor in all of this, the difference maker. 9 minutes later I got the call saying the FDA had not approved it and it would need a little over six years to reap the benefits, meaning that we lost over $450 million in that span of time. If it hadn't been for Shisui's quick thinking, the damage would have doubled. In a matter of three days, we lost over half the company employees." Madara looked into his empty cup, "our stocks were frozen for a month, but I found a way, an escape. I invested into other stocks and dealt my trades. A pyramid of sorts was starting to help balance the significant fall I had taken. And for the people who left me and attempted to start their own business? Well, I made sure to deny them the bare necessities. It's amazing how hedge funds can manage billions of dollars. The more capital they handle, the more they can make in returns, and the better their portfolio looks to high network investors."_

_Madara's voice had turned bone-chillingly cold, the hair on the back of Sasuke's neck stood up, goosebumps riddling his body._

_"While I will not lend you the money, Sasuke Uchiha, if you need advice, I will be here to give it to you. My dear nephew, if you'll excuse me, I have some other issues I need to attend to."_

_Without another word, Madara stood up, and gave a curt bow, leaving a tired, and slightly bewildered Sasuke to contemplate his next move. He needed the money, and he needed it now._

"-ke..."

"Sasuke, we're here." His mother's voice snapped him out of his trance. "Tell me you're staying for dinner later, please?" Mikoto asked, her voice sweet and filled with love; he could never object to her.

"Yes, of course."

"Will the Sabaku family be attending as well?" Itachi asked curtly, looking up at the gloomy sky from outside the car. It seems in their area; the rain hadn't caught up to them, but it would only be a matter of time.

"No, they have other issues to attend to," Fugaku inhaled deeply, closing the door of the car behind him. "Now, let's get inside this house before it starts to rain." Without any hesitation, they all followed the man into their home.

* * *

"Hm, it seems the Uchiha isn't the only one with the idea of giving everyone a three day weekend after the death of the Hyuga. Good call I would say."

"You don't have to put it like that, Gaara," Sakura stated under her breath in the back seat fo the large SUV, looking to her left. Gaara gave her a small quizzical view. "Oh, did you perhaps like the man, Sakura?" Temari piped in from the front seat.

The Pinkett shook her head, "no, it's just that we all technically went to school together, we knew each other and had the same friends. Even if we all didn't necessarily hang out around the same time, it's just sad. He died without warning, and in such a tragic way. I mean... we had just heard he was in Japan and now we hear that he's dead. Whether I did like him as a person or not, Neji was a hard worker, despite all his flaws."

Kankuro watched his adoptive sister brush off some droplets from her black sweater carelessly and turned swiftly to the next right on the street.

"How's work going, though?" Asked Kankuro quietly. Sakura only sent him a glare, "you don't get to ask such questions, especially after what you did." The puppet collector gave a small shrug and parked the car, "if you say so brat. Either way, here we are. Are you sure you don't want me to take you home, Temari?"

Temari swiftly got out of the car with Sakura right on her tail, "no worries. I'll just spend the rest of the day with Sakura. It's been a while since we've had some girl time to ourselves. Besides, it would cause you to have to go the opposite direction from where you and Gaara live, don't worry about it."

By the end of her statement, Gaara had moved to the front seat, giving Sakura one last look before closing the door. With a gentle wave, the girls watched the SUV disappear behind a row of trees once it turned the corner.

"They're going to talk about S&amp;U, aren't they?" Sakura asked in a dull and monotonous tone of voice, fingertips pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yup looks like it's just you and my pinky, against them," Temari said with a deep laugh. Sakura only looked at her older sister and smiled weakly, "you need to stop worrying pinky."

"How can I, Temari? The last time they plotted something they almost ruined it for Sasuke. I could care less what they do to anyone, especially that troll doll of a secretary, but Sasuke, no. I won't have that."

Temari smiled down at her sister, jade hues versus emerald ones, "yeah I understand. You just had to fall in love with the problematic one didn't you?" Sakura blushed a deep crimson, eyes glancing away as her fingers slowly traced the outline of the ring on her finger.

Inside the SUV there was another atmosphere altogether. Gaara and Kankuro had bickered for what seemed to be a while now. "Alright Gaara, geez, you're such an insufferable brat at times, I can't stand you. I've told you already, a head on attack won't work, if you want to take out Sasuke, you need to take out the secretary."

"You make it sound simpler than what I seem. That woman always seems to have luck on her side, or be one step ahead."

"Yeah well, I'm sure that'll be our last plan in case all else fails. Have you slept with blondie yet, Gaara?"

The redhead closed his eyes in annoyance, at moments she seemed to be more to handle than Naruto himself. "No. But she could be a useful pawn. The woman is in such debt that she agreed to spy on them as long as I pay her bills."

Kankuro couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he knew better than to comment on such a thing. Despite everything, the blonde was a useful tool, especially as Sakura's best friend. Gaara stayed silent and closed his eyes, he was noticing his insomnia was on a high as the days passed, he was too stressed.

"When did this happen?"

"Last night. I invited myself over and the woman didn't even have electricity. She lit the place with cheap candles."

At that, the older sibling stayed quiet for a moment. He knew Ino was a mess, but never as bad as having her electric bill shut off. The situation must be pretty horrible if even Sakura isn't helping her out. "So, what is it that you have in mind that we should do, little brother?"

Kankuro questioned, growing more and more tired of the situation. "I'm thinking Kankuro, but I believe the best course of action would-," his voice was cut abruptly by the sound of his cellphone vibrating. A message lit of up the screen and he tilting his head in an intelligent manner, a tiny grin appearing on his feature. For a split second, he looked like a small child who knew a secret nobody else did.

"I believe I have our key. Tell me Kankuro, what do you know about this company?" He showed the glowing blue name on the text to Kankuro who only shrugged.

"Hmm, not much, just that they have a fascinating model and designer. They also sell fabrics as well, just not that good quality. It's a shame. If they were to change things around, they'd actually be making quite a bit of money. Why do you ask?"

"It seems that said designer of the printed sections for fabrics was approached by none other than Sasuke Uchiha."

Kankuro stopped at the light and casually glanced over at his brother from the corner of his eye, "how much does he owe you, Gaara?"

"Enough to spy on them for me."

* * *

*I Would like to say that I'm not bullshitting here in the sense of how fast Neji graduated. I'm not sure if Japan has the same programs in the US, but I based it off of experiences my friends have had. If you do dual enrollment (getting credits for high school courses that can be added to your college courses), with AP classes, you can get your AA in a year instead of two. That's taking full time 18 credit courses (6 classes which are a lot). There are also masters programs that have accelerated programs where you can do it in a year, instead of two. Probably the same, 18 credits for spring, summer, and fall semesters. Which is about 54 credits, sounds quite right, I think.

** Baguazhang is the martial arts style that the Hyugas practice in the anime.

*** Also, please forgive me if I got any of the ages wrong, or in the timeline event, wrong. I just got back to writing this and there will be some grammatical and spelling errors, so please ignore that. I'll fix all of those things when I have the time before I upload the next chapter.


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